


Man Down

by Skylerius



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Amnesia, Angst and Feels, Animal Death, Attempted Kidnapping, BAMF Cloud Strife, Blood and Injury, CPR, Canon-Typical Violence, Cats, Cloud Murders Some Baddies, Drowning, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, Male Friendship, Near Death Experiences, Self-Sacrifice, Team Feels, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23643133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylerius/pseuds/Skylerius
Summary: In which Cloud is a badass ex-SOLDIER who cares a lot for his newfound friends in AVALANCHE, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. Of course, they feel the same about him, so when he takes a hit for them, it breaks their hearts.
Relationships: Barret Wallace & Marlene Wallace, Biggs & Cloud Strife, Cloud Strife & Everyone, Cloud Strife & Marlene Wallace, Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife
Comments: 173
Kudos: 676





	1. Riptide

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know I spelled Barret's name with an extra "t" but that's what auto-correct wanted and I didn't double check that was how it was spelled. Maybe I'll go back and fix it later. 
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! Let me know which character you'd like to see focused on next, or a scenario you'd like to see! It's really encouraging to read comments. <3

"On route to the rendezvous," Biggs panted into his earpiece, one hand pushing the button to allow him to speak as the other clutched his handgun, which felt cold and slick in his sweaty grip. He adjusted his hold on the weapon, trying to stop his mind from running through all the various scenarios this escape could go bad, and instead take comfort in the fact that Cloud Strife was right beside him, that ridiculously large sword of his slung over his back, blue eyes staring forward, face stoic as a brick wall. He had seen the younger man in action to know he was a one-man damn army. 

Cloud himself was silent, mouth pressed into a thin line as he and Biggs raced through the underground tunnel, footsteps echoing on the stone and concrete all around them. To their right, nearest to Biggs, was a solid wall, and to their left was a channel of water running underneath the city; they were in the sewers, of course, but at least the water here was the semi-clean, already-processed stuff that was on its way to be chemically treated one more time before being reused in every bathroom in the sector. It still reeked of mildew and sulfur, but it could have been a _lot_ worse, all things considered. 

The ragtag Avalanche cell that called Seventh Heaven its home had just hit a Shinra warehouse to nab some things needed for upcoming missions, and maybe a few extra little things for the watch and Cloud's mercenary work. Regardless, they had split up, with Cloud and Biggs handling the hard part of getting the others in safely, and keeping the attention of the Shinra watchdogs long enough for Barrett and Jessie to get what they needed and get out. Now, the two groups were on their way to meet up with Wedge in the getaway vehicle, a clunky old van Biggs himself had managed to fix up just for this job. They would ditch it later, when they put some distance between themselves and the warehouse, but it was functioning well enough to handle one hasty getaway before kicking the bucket. That was all they needed it for.

"Copy." Jessie's voice crackled over the boys' earpieces, sounding out of breath but cheerful. "Wedge, you got the engine warmed up for us?"

"I've gotcha covered!" Wedge playfully replied, and they could all imagine him giving a thumbs up to the air. "Ready and waiting at rendezvous." 

"Right," Barrett's already deep voice sounded even more gravelly over the comms. "Jessie and I are almost there. Where are you, SOLDIER Boy?"

"On our way. We ran into a small delay," Cloud replied calmly, mako-infused eyes still fixed ahead, seeming to shine slightly in the darkness.

Biggs snorted. "Yeah, right, small delay. What he means is he chopped up a few more of Shinra's toys with that sword of his."

A few chuckles came over the comms, and Cloud made a face that Biggs couldn't clearly define as embarrassed, annoyed, or amused. He lowered his eyebrows just slightly, chin twitching as his lips pressed tighter together, a faint snort from his nose. The guy was the farthest thing from an open book he had ever met.

"Well, hurry it up. We ain't got time for playin' around," Barrett warned after the chuckles subsided. 

Responding curtly, Cloud nodded his head. "Copy--" He broke off before that last syllable was quite finished, eyes flicking to the side, and he moved so fast that Biggs barely saw him reach back for his sword and spin on his toes so he was suddenly facing the opposite direction, halting his run but skidding a few more feet from the momentum without losing his balance.

Biggs clumsily stumbled to a halt as well, looking back into the dark tunnel and trying to see what put his companion on edge. "What's-- oh _shit."  
_

A Shinra machine he had never seen before was crawling towards them on multiple long, spider-like legs-- on the _ceiling._ It was pretty small as far as Shinra weapons went, no larger than one of the sweepers, but it had at least six limbs clambering through the darkness, a rounded, bell-shaped body, and several small guns installed in little nooks in its armor. A glowing lens, like a robotic eye, was immediately fixed on the two men, the faint shape of a crosshair visible, lining up for the first shot.

"Get down!" Cloud barked, his sword suddenly in front of him, glinting in the low light. Biggs obeyed, ducking down and moving to stand behind him just as he turned the blade sideways to act as a shield, the first storm of bullets raining down on them from above. They pinged off the thick metal of the Buster Sword with sprays of bright orange sparks, and Cloud grunted as a few grazed his legs, which weren't well shielded. 

When the wave of bullets paused, Biggs leaned out from behind Cloud and fired off a few rounds, trying to take out the robot's weapons. He managed to hit one of the smaller turrets, and Cloud freed one hand from the hilt of his blade so he could summon a round of magic, a ball of fire swirling in his palm before he launched it with a low sneer, _"Burn!"  
_

"Hey, guys, what's going on?!" Jessie's voice was almost drowned out by the next wave of bullets as Cloud and Biggs turned to shield themselves behind the Buster Sword again, having no other choices for cover. 

"We ran into another 'delay!'" Biggs shouted into his earpiece over the deafening ricochet. "Never seen one like this before!"

Cloud ignored the worried voices of their friends, focusing on the threat before them to find a way to defeat it. Quickly. As the wave of bullets stopped, he commanded, "Aim for its legs! If we can knock it into the water, I can fry it with lightning magic."

Naturally, Biggs' mind chewed on that idea, and he was able to convince himself it was a good plan without overthinking it too much. Even if the thing was resistant towards magic, water conducted electricity, so the blow would hurt a _lot_ more if it was submerged. Plus, having it _not_ be perching on the ceiling like a giant spider with guns would be a plus. 

He quickly moved to obey the order, firing a flurry of rounds at the robot's spindly legs, each tipped in claws that dug into the concrete, clinging to the crevices to hold its body in the air. Cloud maintained his defensive stance in front of him, though he once again freed one hand to fire off a round of magic, trying to help dislodge the machine from its vantage point. They had to retreat behind the Buster Sword again after just a few seconds, then tried again when the third wave halted, empty shell casings plopping onto the chemical-scented water below.

Finally, three of the robot's legs were too badly damaged to hold it up, and its remaining limbs didn't seem to have the strength to keep it stable, its heavy body swinging back and forth for a moment before it dropped. It clanged loudly against the edge of the canal, then tipped into the water, claws scraping at the stone as it tried to right itself. 

Cloud didn't give it the chance, electricity crackling over his hand as he stretched his arm out. _"Fry."_ A blast of Thunder left his palm, striking the rippling water where the robot had fallen. 

Sparks flew across Biggs' vision, a harsh odor like smoke and chlorine filling the air, and he coughed, recoiling just a step and blinking a few times before glancing towards the canal. The water had stilled, a few little sparks still flitting across its surface as the magic dissipated, and there was no sign of the mech. He stepped out from behind Cloud as the blonde relaxed, moving closer to the edge of the water to peer down into its dark depths. 

Chuckling, he looked back at Cloud, who rolled his shoulders and slung his sword onto his back once more. "Nicely done, Cloud. Guess water and circuits don't mix."

Cloud gave a tiny grunt that was not quite a laugh, a ghost of a smile flitting across his face as he averted his gaze almost shyly. Maybe he wasn't an _open_ book, but he wasn't a _locked_ one, either. It was nice to catch those little glimpses of what made Avalanche's "SOLDIER boy" human.

The expression was short-lived, though, because one moment Cloud was acting human, and the next he was acting _super_ human. His head snapped up, and he moved forward so quickly he was just a blur of color, and then a hand roughly shoved Biggs in the ribs, flinging him away from the water's edge and sending him sprawling on the concrete. "Look ou-- _AGGH!_ " His warning was cut off in a cry of pain, the hand that had been reaching for his sword flinching towards his stomach, where Biggs could just make out the glint of metal claws before Cloud was ripped off his feet and pulled into the water by a spindly, creepy-ass robot spider leg. 

_It wasn't dead. The robot wasn't dead. But Cloud MIGHT be._

"Shit!" Biggs cursed, scrambling to his feet and aiming his gun at the water, only to realize that he might hit Cloud if he couldn't see what the hell he was shooting at. Panic seized him as he watched the water swirl and thrash, waves kicked up as man and machine grappled with one another, and he was absolutely helpless to do anything about it, standing there like an idiot with his finger on the trigger but unable to shoot. 

"Biggs! What's goin' on?!" Barrett shouted in his ear.

"Dammit, it has Cloud!" He shouted, frantically trying to come up with a plan. Something. _Anything.  
_

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from underwater, which exploded outward, waves crashing against the stone and splashing Biggs' boots. Lightning danced through the channel, filling it with light for a few fleeting moments before darkness and stillness took over once more. Cold, ominous silence.

"Cloud!" Biggs wailed in panic, his voice echoing off the walls. He dropped his gun, running up to the edge of the water and peering in, trying to catch a glimpse of the crazy blonde who seriously just fired off a Thunder while _in the water._ When his eyes failed him, he pulled off his earpiece, tossed it by his gun, muttered another curse, and dove into the canal. The water surged around him, surrounding him in cold and absolute darkness, his only sense of direction being the way his heel nudged one side of the canal, which he pushed off of to swim further into the center, hands blindly feeling for any sign of Cloud. His fingers brushed metal, one of the motionless limbs of the now-truly-dead robot, and he shoved it away, diving deeper, reaching further. 

He grew increasingly panicked as his own lungs screamed for air, his hands sweeping through open water, but then he finally felt something; as he moved his legs to right himself so he could go up for a breath, his knee bumped something far too soft to be metal. He quickly reached down and _grabbed_ it, fingers curling around a fistful of what had to be Cloud's shirt, and then he swam for the surface, dragging the dead weight up with him. 

As Biggs' head broke the water, he gasped in a breath of air, his own lightheadedness thankfully fading. He hauled Cloud's limp form up to pull his head above the surface as well, flopping the limp blonde against his chest before hooking his arm more firmly around his waist, hugging him tightly to keep him from slipping as he paddled towards the edge. Cloud's head rested limply against his shoulder, hair slicked down, eyes closed. 

"Shit. Cloud? Cloud?! Come on, buddy..." Biggs grunted, grabbing onto the edge of the canal with his free hand. He summoned all of his strength to climb out of the water with his friend in tow, crawling up onto the concrete and dragging them both a few feet away from the canal. He let Cloud slip out of his grasp, giving himself a moment to regain his bearings, and reach out to grab the earpiece that was quietly shrieking with frantic voices. Their silence had definitely panicked their friends.

He used one hand to stick the comm back in his ear, the other reaching out to check Cloud's pulse -- sluggish -- and his breathing. "Hey, hey, guys?! Cloud took care of the mech, but not before it dragged him into the canal. He's unconscious. I..." He moved his hand closer to Cloud's mouth and nose, not feeling any air brushing against his palm. "I don't think he's breathing. Shit. _Shit._ "

Biggs was quick to pull the Buster Sword off of Cloud, discarding it so he could roll the blonde onto his back without any hindrance. As he glanced him over, he could see where the dark blue fabric was torn at the lower left area of his abdomen, deep slashes cut into his stomach and side from the robot's claws when it grabbed him. He was bleeding, but not too badly, and that could wait. _Breathing_ was more urgent. Biggs tried to calm himself by remembering the sound of Tifa's soothing voice as she ran him and the others through a CPR lesson, shakily acting out the instructions as he muttered them to himself.

"Tilt the head back to open up the airway..." He gently grasped the back of Cloud's neck with one hand, shifting his head so his chin was tilted upwards, then shifted his grasp to hold his jaw as his other hand closed off his nose. "Pinch the nose... breathe twice." The hand on Cloud's jaw opened his mouth so he could lean down and press their lips together, exhaling two breaths into him, enough to make his chest rise. He then straightened up, lining his hands up where he remembered Tifa showing him, and started the compressions, at first being a bit hesitant, but then pushing down with more force, recalling Tifa telling them not to be afraid to put their weight into it. "One... two... three..."

Cloud was unresponsive aside from the way his body jolted with each compression, making Biggs inwardly afraid of cracking his ribs; he was built so lean, and only seemed even smaller and younger as he lay there, unconscious. 

"Cloud! 'Ey, Cloud! SOLDIER BOY!" Barrett was shouting, as if that would do anything.

Trying to keep count of the compressions, Biggs replied breathlessly, "He's out cold! Doing... CPR... Fourteen... fifteen..." He looked away from Cloud's pale face long enough to get and idea of his surroundings. "Get over here. We're... twenty-one... twenty-two... around the first bend!"

As he leaned down to administer two more rescue breaths, he heard Barrett reassure him, "We're on our way! Hang tight!" 

"Just... hurry," Biggs pleaded, straightening up to resume compressions. He wanted to stop, check Cloud's pulse again, but he didn't dare cease pushing down on his chest, terrified that if he did, he would cost the former SOLDIER his life. Death by drowning... electrocution? A mix of both? Damn. Shit. No, he wouldn't let that happen. Especially not when Cloud had pushed _his_ sorry ass out of the way and most certainly saved his life. 

"Come on... come _on..._ " He adjusted Cloud's head again. Two more breaths. His lips felt cold and clammy. Lifeless. "Do _not_ do this to me, Cloud... six... seven... Do _not_ do this to Wedge, Jessie, _Tifa_... eleven... twelve..." 

Despite being a grown man who put himself in dangerous, tragic situations on the daily, he felt the need to cry at the thought of carrying this on his conscience for the rest of his life. Being the reason Cloud Strife, fucking _Cloud Strife,_ was dead. Having to go home and tell Tifa that he was gone, all of them living with the fact that maybe if they hadn't roped him into their fight, he would still be alive, out there being a hero to the common man as a mysterious mercenary wandering Midgar. 

Biggs pressed his mouth firmly against Cloud's, exhaling two more harsh breaths into his lungs. How long could he keep this up? He was exhausted already, nothing but sheer adrenaline keeping his hands thrusting down on Cloud's chest like he was trying to snap the man in half, when in fact that was all that was keeping him alive. 

He finally heard footsteps thundering towards them from around the corner; it had likely only been a minute or two, but it felt like it had taken the others an eternity to arrive. He glanced up at the reassuringly familiar faces of Barrett and Jessie, then bent to breathe for Cloud once more before forcing his tired arms to continue compressions. 

"Oh god--" Jessie gasped, perhaps not expecting to stumble in on such a desperate scene, despite his warning. 

Barrett slowed for a heartbeat, but then pushed forward, dropping onto one knee beside Biggs. "How long has he been down?"

"Since... since I first said I didn't... think he was breathing. A bit before that, even... he was... underwater... pushed me out of the way, got grabbed... used... Thunder, or something, to... to take it out... shocked himself, or drowned, or... or _both_... Dammit... Dammit, Cloud!" Biggs raised his voice to shout at his unconscious friend, losing his grip on the torrent of emotions trying to slowly tear his heart and mind to pieces. 

"Let me take over," Barrett grunted, holding his flesh-and-blood hand out over Cloud's chest. "I can at least do this part for you, before you wear yourself out. Ey, Jessie! Keep watch!"

"R-right..." Jessie stammered, turning her back to them as she rigidly stood on alert, though she kept glancing back at them and biting her lip. 

Biggs waited until he finished that round of compressions and moved to give Cloud another two breaths, then let Barrett pick back up again, reminding him wearily, "Thirty... thirty compressions between breaths..."

Barrett simply grunted, eyes narrowed as he focused on what he was doing. Though he was only using one hand, he could still apply more force than Biggs, making him wonder if he hadn't been pushing down hard enough this whole time. _What if he killed him?_

With his hands now free, Biggs scrambled to grab one of Cloud's hands, pushing his glove down so he could press his thumb against his wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was a little hard to discern it as Cloud's whole body jolted with the force of the compressions, but he could feel it; that slow, stubborn heartbeat still hammering away in his veins. 

"Come on, Stamp, wake up," Barrett growled, pausing, and Biggs swooped in to give the next two breaths. He was pretty sure he could hear Jessie softly crying from where she stood. "Wake up!"

Just as Biggs drew a breath and pressed his mouth to Cloud's, he felt the blonde twitch, jerking his jaw away and convulsing as he started to weakly cough, the sound wet and gurgling deep in his chest. Biggs quickly shot upright, and Barrett grabbed Cloud's arm to roll him onto his side, making it easier for the water to escape his lungs as he coughed and choked. His breaths sounded horribly rough and raspy, but at least he was actually _breathing_ one his own again.

"Cloud!" Jessie sobbed with relief, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm. 

Cloud didn't respond, still too far out of it, but his violent coughing fit tapered off for the most part, aside from the occasion wheeze, and his eyes opened just a sliver. Biggs had never been so grateful to see the soft turquoise glow of his blue mako eyes, even if they were unfocused, staring blankly ahead in a state of oxygen-deprived delirium. He was _alive._ Dear gods, he was _alive._

Biggs tiredly patted the blonde's head, chuckling as his eyes burned with tears. "Good job, Cloud... stay with us now, okay? I'm already not looking forward to telling Tifa what happened _without_ you deciding to die on us."

"Let's get outta here." Barrett hauled Cloud upright by one arm, and Biggs quickly moved to help him sling the half-conscious youth over one shoulder. The big man's hand clapped down on Cloud's back, holding him steady, and he nodded to the Buster Sword laying abandoned on the ground. "Don't forget his Buster."

"Got it..." Biggs felt shaky as he rose to his feet, and the Buster Sword weighed a _ton,_ but he managed to find the strength to heft it into his arms and carry it with him as they jogged towards the rendezvous. He wanted to get out of those tunnels and never see them again.

...

.....

...

The trip back to Seventh Heaven was difficult, with all of the gear to carry back, plus Cloud. They had to ditch the van at the station and hop a train, hiding away in a freight car, then hurry off again once they got to the stop just outside the slums. Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge were in charge of carrying their goodies, while Barrett brought Cloud, who was still slung limply over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes; breathing a bit better, but still very much unconscious. 

At least it was well after dark, so most people were sleeping safely in their homes and didn't bear witness to the tired crew carrying a bunch of ammunition, explosives, and a limp body through the streets. The lights were on at the bar, though, of course, and Tifa sat outside on the steps, wrapped up in an oversized sweater to fight off the night chill. Marlene wasn't with her, likely having been tucked into bed hours ago. At least she wouldn't bear witness to the bedraggled group's return.

Tifa rose to her feet as she saw them approaching, raising one hand in greeting, but she froze as she seemed to realize that Barrett didn't have a bag of gear slung over his shoulder. Her hand slowly lowered, mahogany-colored eyes going round, face stark white. She launched herself off the steps, hitting the ground running as she raced to meet them. "Cloud!"

"He's okay!" Wedge was quick to reassure her, struggling a bit to carry everything in his arms. "Er, well-- he was zapped and drowned, but he's alive!"

_"Wedge,"_ Jessie hissed softly, nudging him with her elbow.

Tifa reached up to gently touch Cloud's hair, which was still plenty damp, then spun around to lead the way back to the bar. "Hurry, let's get inside."

There was no argument from the others, who were all too happy to trudge up the steps and through the front doors of Seventh Heaven, remaining on their feet long enough to take the secret pinball-machine elevator down into the basement so they could drop off their gear, and Barrett could drop off Cloud. The basement was done up like a somewhat proper secret base, with a room that functioned as an armory, an open space with a table for going over plans or crafting Jessie's explosives, all manner of emergency supplies for missions and the bar alike, and a huge, old leather sofa pushed against one wall. Barrett laid Cloud down on the couch, as carefully as he could, and stepped back to let Tifa reach his side. 

"So _what_ happened to him?" Tifa asked fretfully, gently touching Cloud's face, feeling how cold his skin was. His breathing was still too loud and shallow for anyone's liking, and his wound hadn't been properly tended, either. She started to strip off his gloves, pauldron, and the leather straps that held the Buster Sword. 

Naturally, everyone looked to Biggs, who tiredly sank into a chair by the meeting table. He was bone-tired and cold, being just as damp as Cloud was after diving into the water to save him. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his mop of black hair, explaining, "We ran into trouble on the way out... some kind of Shinra robot. We thought we beat it, but then it grabbed for me, and he pushed me out of the way... it dragged him into the water. I panicked..." Oh, yes, he had panicked, and he was going to own up to it. He held his face in his hands, angry with himself. "I didn't do anything, and he used a Thunder in the water to stop the damn thing. Shocked himself, drowned... either way, he was out cold when I managed to drag him out."

"It's not your fault..." Jessie murmured, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "Cloud couldn't just stand by and watch you get hurt. That's not the kind of person he is."

Barrett grunted in agreement, but was too proud or embarrassed to say anything.

Sighing, Biggs raised his head to smile up at the others, then added, "Your CPR lessons came in handy, Tifa. Saved Cloud's life."

Tifa gave a small smile over her shoulder as well, setting Cloud's things on the floor, then started to try to strip him out of his shirt. When the others started giving her odd looks, she explained, "He's freezing, and these wet clothes aren't helping. You need to get into something dry, too, Biggs. Wedge, why don't you walk him home? I can handle things from here." 

Wedge opened his mouth as if to argue that he wanted to stay with his newfound hero, but then he sighed and nodded, turning to Biggs. "Okay. The cats will be worried about me, anyway. I should get home, too."

Biggs reluctantly got to his feet, but then paused, staring down at Cloud. He didn't want to leave him, not until he saw him wake up and be okay. "Actually, I... think I'll stay here tonight. We've got some clothes down here somewhere, right?"

The others gave him knowing looks, and Jessie turned to flip open the flaps of a cardboard box. "Uh-huh! We've got a little of everything down here. Let's see..." She rifled through the articles that were set aside for Biggs, pulling out two outfits; if anyone's things might fit Cloud, it would be his. "They'll be a bit big on our hero over there, but it's better than freezing." 

The girls worked to strip Cloud out of his wet things and wrangle him into the oversized, dry clothes, while the guys all awkwardly shuffled off to give them some space, and allow Biggs to change himself. Emergency clothes were a thing when your job often involved getting dirty, hurt, sometimes burned... clothes were easily destroyed beyond repair in any manner of ways. So, there was nothing like a pair of ratty old sweatpants and a t-shirt at the end of such a day, though at least Biggs' outfit would be salvageable, since they were just wet, not ruined.

Cloud needed a bit more help than just a change of clothes, though. After he was in the dry pants, Tifa fetched one of the many medical kits stowed in the basement and started to set to work on his wound. She washed it out with antiseptic, then applied a potion to speed up the healing process, preventing the need of stitches, before pressing a few large squares of gauze onto his stomach and fixing them in place with cloth bandages and medical tape. Only then did she and Jessie sit him up to slip the fresh shirt onto him before carefully laying him back down. 

Biggs wandered over to sit on the couch, just by Cloud's feet, tiredly sinking into the old leather and glancing over his prone friend. Before he could start stressing or despairing, however, a wad of fabric suddenly thumped into his face, and he gave a startled yelp, grabbing the object and pulling it into his lap to see it was a folded-up blanket. Looking up, he saw Barrett standing there, several blankets draped over his gun arm as he handed them out with his good hand.

"Can't have you two gettin' sick on us," the big man grumbled, handing the girls some blankets to start unfolding and draping over Cloud. "Should be enough spare blankets for the both of you."

"Thanks," Biggs replied, shaking the blanket out and draping it over himself. He felt much better once he started to warm up, and even Cloud seemed to gain a bit more color to his face when a few blankets were heaped over him. "I'll stay with him down here, and call one of you if anything happens."

"Right. Just try not to wake Marlene if ya need something, alright?" Barrett grunted, tiredly rubbing at his stubble-covered jaw. 

Tifa smiled, lingering by Cloud's head, gently stroking his cheek. "I'll stay, too. I'll be upstairs with Marlene, okay?"

He nodded, then glanced over to Jessie and Wedge, who were lingering behind, but probably eager to get home and get some rest. "We'll be alright. See you guys in the morning."

"Right..." Jessie nodded, then took Wedge by the arm, the two walking to the lift together. 

Barrett followed after them, and, finally, Tifa. She glanced over at Biggs, giving him one of her warm, sincere smiles as she murmured, "Thank you. For saving him, I mean."

Biggs snorted, cracking a smile. "Yeah, well, he saved me first."

She chuckled, nodding, then headed for the lift. "Goodnight, Biggs."

"Goodnight, Tifa."

As the lift vanished upstairs for the last time, he was left alone in the silence with Cloud. Unlike before, though, this was a safe sort of silence... the peaceful kind. The kind that let him lean his head back against the couch and just listen to the blonde's raspy breathing until he fell asleep.

...

.....

...

It was too hot. Cloud was pretty sure he was in bed back at his apartment, but he couldn't remember the last time he had slept with so much weight on top of him; he normally didn't even use a blanket, not wanting to get tangled up in it if he had to be on his feet in an instant. But right now, he was wrapped up in a whole pile of them, the weight of them oddly comforting, but also stiflingly hot, making him squirm as he slowly began to wake.

As he drew in a breath through his nose, he suddenly became aware of how much his chest and throat ached, like he had inhaled a gallon of water and then gotten punched in the chest by Ifrit himself. Ten times. There was also a less aggressive pain pricking at the soft part of his stomach and his side, the muscle aching as if it had been recently hurt and knitted back together, but the skin and soft flesh still fragile. 

So... he was injured.

That was enough to kick his brain into gear, and he forced his heavy eyes to open, being met with a wall of worn brown leather. Definitely not his bed. Blinking to clear his blurry vision, he tried to gather one arm beneath him to push himself upright, his whole body moving sluggishly, muscles aching with the mere effort of sitting up against his elbow. His head swam, and he had to bite back a pained groan as he turned his head to look around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

He was laying on a huge old couch, at least four blankets piled up on top of him, and he was surrounded by all manner of crates, cardboard boxes, and other junk piled up. Straight across from the couch, behind him, was a wooden table under a lamp hung from the ceiling, and around said table sat the people he had come to see as his friends. They were all speaking in low voices, but didn't seem to be in the middle of any important discussion; rather, they had plates of food in front of them, and Marlene was whispering some story about playing with some stray cats as she jabbed at a pancake with her fork, Jessie and Wedge humoring her as the others muttered about some other topic that he didn't quite catch.

He was safe, then, if they were all there. It still did not explain what happened to him, or how he got there.

Gathering his strength, Cloud slowly pushed himself further upright, turning so he was facing towards the others, instead of laying with his back to them. The faint grunts of pain he let out alerted the others, and their heads all suddenly turned to stare at him as he stared back, silence falling over the room for a brief moment. Then, it was smiles all around, and Tifa was quick to get to her feet and come towards him. "Cloud! You're awake." He could hear the relief in her voice.

"Yeah... what happened?" Cloud let Tifa help him shift to sit leaning against the back of the couch, though he did push the blankets away when she tried to tuck them around him, unable to bear the stifling heat anymore.

"You drowned!" Jessie chirped, grinning at him from her spot at the table with Marlene. 

His eyes narrowed at that, head aching as he tried to reach back into his memory. "Wha-?" It clicked, after a moment. Running through the sewers with Biggs, the fight with the Shinra mech, pushing Biggs out of the way just as it reached for him... hitting the water, metal claws tearing through his stomach as the air rushed from his lungs, and his desperate ploy of using lightning magic underwater to fry the thing for good. Frying himself in the process, apparently, because everything after that was gone.

"You scared us pretty good, merc." Barrett remained seated on Marlene's other side, soothingly petting her soft hair as she glanced at the adults. "Jessie and I ran back to find Biggs breathin' for ya."

Cloud's blue eyes flicked over to Biggs, who was also on his feet, though he lingered a bit behind Tifa, averting his eyes. The older man scratched at his jaw, murmuring, "You saved my life, almost at the cost of your own."

"Mm." Cloud nodded. "And I'd do it again."

Biggs looked up to meet his gaze, then cracked a smile. "Yeah. Same here, Cloud." He finally moved closer, reaching down to clap a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright."

Tifa shifted to sit on the edge of the couch, her hands gravitating towards his whether she realized it or not, holding his calloused fingers in a gentle grasp. "Are you hungry? Do you want to try eating something?"

He didn't really feel hungry, but he nodded, not knowing how to deal with fussing like that aside from agreeing with her. "Sure."

She smiled, standing again so she could scurry over to the table and gather up his portion of the breakfast everyone was sharing, Wedge helping her to make his plate, insisting he needed some of _everything._ Barrett and Marlene went back to talking, while Jessie just gazed at him across the table as she slowly ate her food, a strange look in her eyes that made him squirm a bit in his seat... what was that all about? 

Biggs plopped down to sit beside him, though, helping to rid him of a few of the blankets -- insisting he kept one, at least -- before Tifa was back with his food. She set the plate in his lap and handed him a cup of something hot -- tea, maybe?

"Thanks." Cloud picked up his fork with his free hand, taking a bite of the food while Tifa was still watching so she maybe wouldn't look at him like he was made of glass. It seemed to satisfy her, as she ventured back to her seat at the table, leaving him and Biggs to sit in companionable silence as he slowly worked his way through the breakfast he didn't really want. They were beside one another, close but not touching, not even really looking at each other, just... existing, together. Watching and listening to the others while appreciating the fact that the other was still there. 

If he took the occasional deep, exaggerated breath to remind Biggs that he _could_ still breathe, nobody said anything about it, and he never admitted to it, either.


	2. Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a long one this time! Focusing on Cloud and little Marlene, when some hoodlums looking to score the bounty on Barret's head come 'round Sector 7. >83c 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented on the first chapter! Let me know what you think of this next installment and feel free to leave suggestions! I'm already planning the third, going with a "hiding an injury" prompt someone suggested! Totally NOT what Tifa meant by not worrying her, Cloud. Hehe. Stay tuned to see what I come up with! 
> 
> The song featured in the lighthearted little prologue bit is "Lion" by Hearts & Colors, and I was listening to it while writing this.

_"-I swear the cops got a gun on me,_

 _Maybe I'm someone that I shouldn't be._

 _So tired from the miles I'm travelin',_

 _Getting lost somewhere that I haven't been._

 _When all the bad shit starts happenin',  
_

 _I ain't never throwin' that towel in~"_

Music played through Seventh Heaven from the jukebox lurking in the corner by the dartboard, the sound a little tinny from the well-worn speakers, but the lyrics and the beat still clear, and catchy. Tifa rocked her hips back and forth a little as she mixed another round of drinks for one of the few occupied tables, her luminous coppery-brown eyes glancing towards the bar, which seated just one man. A young blonde, scarcely more than a boy, with blue eyes infused with mako. Even when sitting at the bar with a glass in his hand, Cloud looked mournfully sober, his eyes fixed on the wood grain of the bar's counter, his hand gently swirling his drink around in his glass; their signature drink, the red-tinted Cosmo Canyon. It ended up being his favorite, one way or another, since that evening Tifa first offered one to him. 

She smiled at the faraway look in his eyes as the music played, inwardly comparing him to the lyrics. It certainly sounded like it was a theme for a fugitive ex-SOLDIER making his way in the world as a mercenary. 

Humming along to the tune, she set the last drink on the tray and carried it over to the table, handing out the glasses to her patrons; all regulars, respectful and quiet on this slow evening. They simply nodded their thanks before returning to their conversation, allowing her to swing back over to the bar with a spring in her step as the music played.

 _"There's a lion in the wardrobe  
_

 _And a wolf at the door._

 _I might never get to heaven,  
_

 _But I've been there before~"_

Setting her serving tray down, Tifa glanced towards the clock on the wall, pursing her lips as she saw the time. It was 6:30 already, only a half hour until closing, and Marlene hadn't arrived home from playing with her friends yet; she had gone out with Betty that afternoon, under the condition she returned before dinner at 7:00. Tifa and Barret alike trusted the townsfolk enough to let her have her fun and just be a normal little girl running about with her friends, but they _were_ insistent on that curfew. No exceptions.

"Hey, Cloud?" She glanced over at her companion, who hummed softly and looked up to meet her eyes. "Think you could go find Marlene for me? It's just about closing time, and she still has to wash up before dinner."

Cloud shrugged one shoulder. "Sure." He picked up his glass to down the last sip of his drink, then set it back on the counter, sliding off of the bar stool to stretch. He was wearing something aside from his worn SOLDIER getup, a pair of baggy grey camo pants and a plain white t-shirt, but still had the leather straps that held the Buster Sword crossing over his torso. Even when off the clock, he kept his weapon at his side. Or, at least within reach. He moved to come behind the bar, where the Buster Sword lay waiting, underneath a low shelf. Tifa had insisted he stow it back there while she had customers, so he didn't scare any of them off, but if he was going out, he was certainly bringing it with him.

He slung the Buster Sword into its place on his back, the massive blade looking out of place when he didn't have the rest of his gear on. No pauldron or gloves, just his usual clunky black boots. Yet, it was so clearly a part of him at the same time, not seeming out of place at all. 

"Thank you," Tifa called after him with a smile, and he waved one hand in a silent "don't worry about it" gesture as he headed for the door. She chuckled, unable to help but resume her slight dancing to the music, rocking back and forth as she set to washing Cloud's empty glass. 

_"'Cause when she's lyin' in my sheets_

 _In that new t-shirt I bought,_

 _Ain't no place that I gotta be,_

 _Still two steps back from where I wanna be~"_

...

.....

...

That damn song Tifa had playing in the bar was stuck in Cloud's head as he ventured out into the slums to hunt down the littlest member of their misfit group. The sun was steadily sliding lower towards the horizon, staining the sky orange and grey as most people retreated home to enjoy dinner and some quiet time with their families, unless they were common crooks venturing out to see if they could score some loot beyond the scrapyards. Nobody paid the hoodlums any mind, considering none of them were going to be victims; few people around the Sector 7 slums had anything worth stealing. Cloud ignored them, too, focusing on his mission. Marlene.

Stifling a yawn, he rubbed at his chest through his loose t-shirt, trying to remember where she and her cat-loving friend liked to play. Not far, he knew... there was a little clubhouse of sorts set up just down the street. 

He ventured onward, drawing in a deep breath of evening air that smelled of sun, dust, smog, and whatever street food that vendor on the corner was trying to sell that night. Something deep fried, certainly. Maybe if he found Marlene quickly, he would hit up the stand and let her spoil her appetite a little with a treat. The four-year-old was finally starting to warm up to him, no thanks to Barret and his constant jabs, and though he didn't much like kids, Cloud had a hard time brushing her off like any of the other youths scampering about and vying for the merc's time. She was just so bright, sweet, and wholly _innocent_. The only other person Cloud knew who exuded an aura of purity like that was the girl who gave him that flower after his first mission with AVALANCHE. He didn't even know her name, but that look in her eyes... it was like no evil, no darkness, could touch her. People like her and Marlene gave him hope.

Arriving at the spot where the kids often played, close enough to the bar that he could see its sign peeking up from behind a few rows of smaller buildings crowded together, he found it emptier than he would have hoped. There were no little voices coming from within the tiny clubhouse made of scrap metal and reclaimed wood, nobody climbing on the old rubber tires half-buried in the ground to create some kind of obstacle for the kids to play on. There was just one of Betty's white cats, sprawled out in the last of the sun, lazily licking one paw and dragging it over its face.

Sighing, Cloud looked around, his sharp eyes cutting through the growing dusk as if it was still daylight. He spotted Betty talking to an old woman; her aunt, or grandmother, he didn't remember. The two were just about to walk into one of the small houses clustered together amid a web of laundry lines.

Lifting one hand to catch their attention before they disappeared inside, Cloud jogged over, asking, "Hey, you know where Marlene is? Tifa asked me to get her for dinner."

"Oh." The old woman blinked, then slowly turned her head to peer down at Betty, her gentle eyes nearly lost in the maze of wrinkles over her face. "Betty, you didn't tell me you were playing with your little friend."

"Marlene said she was going home!" Betty replied, one tiny hand holding onto the old woman's bony fingers as she smiled innocently up at them. "We found some pretty bird feathers, and she was gonna give them to Tifa!"

"Hmph." Cloud narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't seen Marlene on his way over, and he had taken the most direct route. Had she made some kind of detour? She was _four._ Someone should have walked her home, no matter how safe they thought the neighborhood was with the watch looking after them. He turned to stalk away, muttering a quick, "Thanks." 

He stalked towards a different street that Marlene could have taken back to the bar, but didn't make it more than ten meters down the way before his vision suddenly fizzled, pain exploding in his skull as the world seemed to tint slightly green. The headache came on just as quickly as it always did, one of his hands shooting up to cradle his head as he hunched over slightly from the pain, feeling like someone was taking a power drill to his skull and trying to pull his brains out through the hole. 

"Damn it..." The blonde muttered through gritted teeth, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before slowly opening them again as the pain eased just a little. He looked up, half expecting to see some horrific hallucination about he-who-would-not-be-named, but instead, he saw the flicker of a dark hood, a robe floating down the street without anyone wearing it.

Not one of _those_ things again. Cloud hissed at the sight of it, only to freeze at it paused and seemed to look back at him, then continued onward, taking a path _away_ from Seventh Heaven, towards one of the many scrapyards.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt the instinct to follow the creepy wraith-like creature, picking up his pace to a brisk walk, nearly a jog, as he followed it through the maze of narrow streets. It always remained out of reach, his keen eyes just catching glimpses of it as it rounded a corner or wove through a crowd of tired scrappers on their way home. Still, he managed to stay on its tail as it led him further and further from home, and his heart started to pound, some sixth sense telling him he was in for a fight. The familiar heft of the Buster Sword against his back helped calm his nerves, even as his shoulders tensed and his eyes glowed with fierce intent.

Soon, he lost sight of the wraith, and his headache completely vanished, aside from the slightly woozy feeling he always had right after an attack. He slowed his pace, glancing up at the wall the people had constructed between the monster-infested scrap and the residential slums, made from a combination of metal refuse and chain-link fencing. The worst areas had proper gates kept shut and locked, but the wraith had led him to one of the small side-entrances of sorts, just a hole in the bottom of the wall, the roof low enough that he would have to crouch down to walk through. From the other side, he heard voices.

"Shush! You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for ya!" It was an unfamiliar male voice, a little nasally, and very annoyed. 

A smaller, softer voice whimpered something he didn't quiet hear, but there was no mistaking who it was; Marlene. She was sniffling and trying not to cry, from the sounds of it, and he clenched his fists as the reality of the situation weighed down on him. Someone had snatched her on her way home. 

Crouching low to the ground, Cloud crept partway through the small entrance in the scrap wall, remaining hidden for the moment. He reached back to grip the handle of the Buster Sword, the grip feeling rough against his bare palm; no gloves, no protection for his hands. He could deal with it. He peered through the tunnel, gazing out into the open space beyond, littered with all manner of junk and garbage, as well as some food scraps some little creature managed to make off with before being scared away from its meal by the crooks milling about. 

It was steadily getting darker as the sun dipped below the horizon, but he could still make out the silhouettes of four different men, and one woman, their manner of dress making it clear they were experienced villains, to a degree. They had weapons on their belts, strapped to their thighs, slung over their backs, decked out in boots and other gear that was durable enough to hold up in a scuffle. Marlene was sitting on a crate off to the side, rubbing at her face with both little hands as she bit back sobs, clearly terrified, but seemingly unharmed, for the moment.

"You sure it's this one?" The woman asked. "There were two little girls."

"Yeah, I'm sure. The one he was carrying around had short hair. The other one's hair was long enough to be done up like a beehive," one of the men replied, reaching out to tug on a lock of Marlene's short brown hair. The little girl flinched away and whimpered loudly at that, drawing her legs up onto the crate to curl up with her knees to her chest. 

Another of the men spoke up, tapping his fairly large handgun against his leg in an impatient manner, "What do we do now? He's gonna come looking once he realizes she's gone. We should be setting up a defensive position for when he does."

"He'll never find us out here in the dark. We're fine," the woman scoffed. "We'll wait until morning and send out the message that the man with a gun for an arm better surrender himself in the scrapyard, or his little ragamuffin gets it." Cloud could make out a curved dagger glinting in the low light, the woman tauntingly pretending to slice her own throat with it at the words _'gets it.'_ He ground his teeth together in anger at the mere thought.

"The bounty will be ours," one of the thugs finished with a grin, as if they had already won.

So, the jackasses were a bunch of rogues trying to hunt down Barret for the bounty on his head. Shinra didn't know his identity, nor where he lived, only that he was a fairly distinctive member of the AVALANCHE eco-terrorist group who had given them a lot of trouble recently. He supposed the description of a gun-armed man was being passed around quite frequently, and this lot was lucky enough to have spotted him out with Marlene. The cowards were preying on his daughter to get to him. 

Too bad their plan wouldn't work.

Just as one of the thugs reached out as if to pluck Marlene off of the crate, Cloud stepped out from his hiding place, pulling the Buster Sword from his back in one smooth, fluid motion. "That's not happening." 

The five thugs spun around, drawing their weapons, only to relax slightly at the sight of a single blonde-haired young man standing before them. Cloud was shorter than all of the other men, and only slightly taller than the woman, and wasn't done up in all of his gear; he probably looked like a teenage upstart trying to play hero. That was fine; he didn't care if they underestimated him.

"Go home, kid," the man with the large handgun sneered, pointing the barrel straight at Cloud's head. 

"Don't think I will," Cloud replied curtly, falling into a ready battle position, rolling his shoulders to loosen them. He glanced past the thugs at Marlene, who peered out from behind her hands with wide brown eyes. Tears were streaked down her chubby cheeks, glinting in the dying sunlight. His heart reached out to her, and he murmured in a calm, softer voice, "Close your eyes, Marlene, and don't open them until I say so, okay?"

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded, clamping her hands over her eyes once more.

"'Ey! We said to get lost!" A hefty guy with bright ginger stubble across his jaw snarled, clutching a metal club in his fist. It looked like someone had taken a metal baseball bat and stuck as many pieces of sharp, twisted scrap metal into the end as they could. One blow with that kind of weapon, and flesh would be torn right off the bone. 

"And I said _no,_ " Cloud growled back, lowering his chin and glaring at them with his glowing, mako-infused eyes. "I don't take kindly to cowards to prey on children. Hold still, and I'll make this _quick._ "

He lunged forward at that, moving with inhuman speed, the Buster Sword already raised above his head as he appeared in front of the redhead with the club. It came down in a brutal arc before the thugs could react, flesh and bone yielding to the heavy steel blade as it struck the man square across the left shoulder and across his chest. Blood sprayed from the wound, spattering onto Cloud's t-shirt, but he paid no mind to the warm, sticky feeling, or the shriek of pain that tore out of his victim, as he kicked out with one foot to slam his boot into the larger man's stomach, knocking him flat on his back. The Buster Sword was pointed straight downward in instant, the tip of the blade stabbing into the man's ribcage seemingly with a flick of his wrist. 

The remaining four thugs panicked as one of their own was dead, just like that, Cloud's attack having taken no more than two or three seconds from start to finish. Those with guns opened fire, and Cloud spun around on one foot, swinging his sword up to act as a shield as he pushed off the corpse at his feet to throw himself forward.

He didn't have any of his offensive materia like fire or lightning, as they weren't set into the Buster Sword's blade, but rather some of his other gear he had left behind while relaxing at the bar with Tifa. This fight was going to be close-quarters only, and he would grant no mercy. The others weren't there to look at him like he was a monster for going for the kill, and these people were too dangerous to leave alive. Anyone who knew about Marlene and was willing to use her against them had to go; it was either her life, or theirs, and that wasn't a difficult decision on his part.

The thugs scrambled back as Cloud raced at them, fanning out in panic and giving him a bit more room to work. He turned his sword so the edge was facing outward, instead of the flat side, then swung his arm out to the side, catching one of them on the back swing. The thug squawked as their arm was sliced open, causing them to drop their weapon, and Cloud dropped and rolled with the momentum of his attack as another storm of bullets rained towards him. He had to keep moving, and try to keep from getting surrounded.

As her companions stopped to reload, the woman with the dagger jumped at him with a screech, her attack being stopped at the last second as he swung his own blade up to intercept it. The blades clanged against one another, the Buster Sword easily holding back the much smaller weapon, but the woman had another he hadn't seen at first; her other hand deftly flicked a smaller blade underneath his own. It buried itself two inches in his thigh, getting a grunt of pain out of him before he shoved the woman back with the flat side of his sword. 

He advanced on her before she had a chance to regain her bearings, each step sending a wave of pain shooting up his leg as he reached out and grabbed her by her jacket with one hand. He ripped her right off her feet with his superior strength, swinging her in front of him just as her buddies opened fire again; they didn't have the chance to correct their aim before her back was riddled with bullets, her eyes going wide as her mouth gaped open in shock and pain. He could see the life fade from her eyes as dark spots bloomed against her clothes, her entire torso turning red with blood. He simply dropped his human meat shield on the ground, reaching down to rip the small blade out of his leg as he braced himself for the next attack.

Two dead, one injured, and two more still unscathed. _Not for long._

Cloud's hands were hurting from the sparks that flew off of his blade every time he moved to block a hail of bullets, burns peppering his forearms, the first layer of skin rubbed from his palms from the rough grip of the Buster Sword's hilt. Still, he tightened his hold on his weapon and lunged, ignoring the pain as he swung down with all of his might, slamming the blade into the ground and using its weight to vault himself up and over, doing a front flip to leap over the next of his opponents and land behind them. 

He landed on his feet, swinging his sword out without a second of hesitation, rotating his body on his hips with the motion. One of the gunmen screeched as the blade cut into his side, but whether from sheer tenacity or being _very pissed off_ at two of his friends being dead, he didn't immediately crumple over and give in. Rather, he fell to the dusty ground and rolled, dodging Cloud's next blow, which sank the edge of the Buster Sword into the dirt mere inches from where the man's neck had been. 

"Gotcha!" The gunman snarled, firing off a few rounds before Cloud could drag his sword up to shield himself. One whizzed just past his ear, another grazed his cheek, and a third plunged deep into the soft part of his shoulder, a spray of blood erupting from the wound and spattering against the side of his neck. 

Cursing, Cloud recoiled, having to adjust his grip on his weapon to cope with his right arm now being mostly useless. He could hear Marlene squealing and crying, though, and that fueled his own rage. 

Shutting down any ounce of self-preservation instincts that screamed at him to _notice the pain,_ he bared his teeth and kicked off the ground, jumping up and slamming both feet into the downed man's chest, knocking the wind out of him as ribs cracked under his weight. He shifted to stomp down on his throat with the next step, effectively crushing his windpipe with the blow, then leaping off of him to round on the last two thugs as his victim lay choking on the ground, rapidly suffocating. 

One of the last two was already wounded, and faltered at the sight of Cloud's snarling face, scrambling back as if weighing the option to turn tail and flee. His hesitation was his undoing, however, as Cloud lunged forward and swung the Buster Sword at him. His attack was slower than before, thanks to one of his arms being unable to help bear the considerable weight of the blade, and his opponent was able to fire off just one round before he was cut down. 

Cloud was so numbed to the pain now that he wasn't sure if it hit him or not, as he was turning to face the last thug standing. This one was smart enough to try to dive for little Marlene, perhaps to use her as leverage, but like hell _that_ was going to happen. 

The mako running through his veins made Cloud faster, even while wounded, and the last thug was knocked face-down into the dirt, the Buster Sword's blade slicing through his back, cutting muscle and spinal cord in one. He hit the ground either unconscious or paralyzed, and was finished off with a flick of Cloud's wrist, his blood spattering onto the dusty ground. 

Standing victorious, Cloud drew in panting breaths, his right arm hanging uselessly at his side as blood streamed from his fingertips, left hand still clutching the Buster Sword's grip as it rested against the ground. For a few long moments, all he could hear was his own ragged breathing and the blood roaring in his ears, but as the adrenaline faded, he could hear Marlene's whimpers and sniffles as she cried from her spot up on the crate, hands still pressed firmly over her eyes. Cloud hadn't told her to look yet, so she wasn't, just sitting there and crying in fear as she waited for the nightmare to be over.

The sight of her calmed him, like a lion soothed by the sight of its cub safe and sound, and he relaxed from his battle stance. Grunting, he managed to sling the Buster Sword over his back again, then staggered towards Marlene; his leg was feeling weak, and a glance down showed a fair amount of blood staining his pant leg. There was also another dark spot blooming against his side. Seemed that stray bullet managed to hit him after all, making every breath send a stab of pain through the lower right half of his chest. 

"It's... it's okay, Marlene..." Cloud stopped in front of her, gently touching the top of her head with one hand. "It's over now. Keep your eyes closed, though, okay? It's not safe to look yet."

"Okay, C-Cloud," the little girl sniffled, whining. 

Taking a moment to care for himself first, Cloud unbuckled his belt and pulled it free of his pants, which were a little loose, but not so much as to fall down. He wrapped the belt over the stab wound in his leg, then tightened it, stabbing the buckle through the leather where there wasn't a hole for it to keep it snug. A makeshift tourniquet to keep him from bleeding out on the way home, hopefully. He hadn't any curatives on him.

Breathing deeply, Cloud turned back to Marlene, gently stroking her arms. "Okay. I'm gonna get us home..." 

Marlene nodded, still covering her eyes, but allowed him to gently grasp her under her arms and lift her up. He tucked her against his chest, the little girl's arms quickly winding around the back of his neck to cling to him with a death grip as she buried her face against the side of his neck. He curled his left arm under her to hold her up, his right arm still barely functional thanks to the gunshot wound; he was pretty sure the bullet was still in there, too, pain grinding into his flesh each time he tried to move. He got over it, gritting his teeth as he shakily lifted his right hand to press it against Marlene's back, holding her tightly to him.

He then began to limp home, practically dragging himself back through the tunnel on his knees before staggering to his feet again on the other side of the wall. The slums were now officially empty as darkness wrapped itself around Midgar. 

Cloud just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, sort of dragging his wounded leg behind him as he limped along. He could feel a trickle of blood going down his leg, wetting his sock, and the hand against Marlene's back left a red smear against her dress. That wasn't important, though. What was important was the way he gently patted her, tilting his head towards hers just slightly to rest his jaw against her head as she clung to him and nuzzled her nose into his neck. 

"It's okay... nobody can hurt you..." He murmured soft reassurances to her in between breaths, feeling her fingers clutching at wisps of his spiky blonde hair at the nape of his neck. It hurt, but in a good, distracting way, taking his attention off of the tight feeling in his chest as he did his best to keep her weight on his left side, off of his bad arm and the wound in his chest. "Nobody is _ever_ going to hurt you with me around..."

"P-promise?" Marlene sniffled, her voice muffled against his shirt.

Static seemed to flicker over Cloud's vision at that question, and for a brief moment, he was brought back to another time, years ago, sitting on the ledge of a wooden water tower as a young girl made him promise to be there when she needed a hero someday. He stumbled, almost going down, but then the vision faded and he regained his bearings, shifting Marlene up a bit higher in his arms as he took a breath and pushed on. "I promise..."

He shut down again after that, and Marlene was quiet as well. He just focused on how tiny, helpless, and _alive_ she was in his arms, how much she needed him right then, to be strong, to be something beyond even a SOLDIER. This wasn't a trip for money or vengeance. This was the need to _protect,_ and it was somehow stronger than all other feelings that had driven him before, giving him the energy to limp up the steps of Seventh Heaven and stagger across the porch, vaguely aware of the pain and weakness in his body, but able to overcome it. 

With his hands full of Marlene, however, he couldn't knock, so he instead shifted his weight onto his good leg, drew back his injured one, and harshly kicked the door with the toe of his boot, causing it to shudder on its hinges with the blow as he winced in pain. "Hey! Tifa! Open up!"

Through the door, he could hear the voices of the others and plates clattering as someone got out place settings for dinner.

"'Bout time they got back. What's he doin', messin' around while he's supposed to be lookin' after my baby girl?" Barret grumbled.

"Marlene was probably having too much fun, and he couldn't bear to tell her no! Cloud's such a softie," Jessie teased, her light footsteps dancing across the wooden floor, growing nearer. There was a soft thunk as she unlocked the door, and then it squeaked open, showing her smiling face. "Right--?" The smile vanished quickly as she took in his appearance, all the color draining from her face. _"Cloud!"_

He firmly grasped Marlene around the ribs, prying her off of him and holding her out to Jessie as he said gruffly, "Take her."

Marlene whimpered, her hands grasping at his shirt, but she let go of him when Jessie complied, hooking her arms around her back and knees to cradle her like a baby. The little girl's hands promptly when over her eyes again, and she started to cry once more. "C-can I look yet, C-Cloud?"

"Not... yet..." Cloud staggered past the still shell-shocked Jessie to enter the bar, where he was met with the wide eyes and frightened faces of the other AVALANCHE members.

"Marlene!" Barret gasped, rising from his seat at the bar so fast that the stool fell over, clattering against the floor. It seemed louder than it should have been, as if the volume on Cloud's ears was being cranked up to maximum; he could hear a faint, keening sound in the background, and absently lifted one hand to rub at his head. Did nobody else hear that?

Hands were suddenly on his arms, and he blinked, not realizing Tifa had come to stand in front of him. She was staring up at his face, asking him something... repeating herself, trying to get an answer. "-- happened? Cloud, can you hear me...? What happened?"

He gave a snort, his mouth twisting in a sneer. "Couple of cowards wanted to get to Barret through Marlene... I took _care_ of them."

Tifa's eyes widened slightly, quickly catching his meaning, but then dropped her eyes from his face to look him over. "You're bleeding everywhere-- Barret, is Marlene okay?!"

Turning his head, Cloud could see Barret now had Marlene, looking her over as she clung to his chest and sobbed. She still wasn't looking around her, head nestled against her father, shoulders hunched. "I... I think so. The only blood on her is..." He looked up at Cloud, his brown eyes wider than he had ever seen them. "You saved her. You saved my baby girl." 

"Yeah..." Cloud blinked. "I did."

Marlene was safe now.

Cloud's legs suddenly gave out.

"Cloud!" Tifa caught him by his wounded arm in a panicked attempt to keep him from hitting the floor, which just caused a scream to tear out of his throat as it felt like the limb was going to be ripped right off. She dropped onto her knees as she let go, instead letting him fall, but against her, his torso practically laying in her lap as she cradled his head with one arm. He could vaguely hear her frantic apologies. "Sorry, sorry, Cloud, I'm so sorry--"

"Tifa! Get it together, girl!" Barret bellowed, snapping everyone out of the panic they were in. He gently kissed Marlene's head, then handed her off to Biggs, who took her with surprising ease. Cloud wouldn't have guessed he knew how to hold a kid. 

Wedge shuffled over to hover behind Tifa, a slightly blurred, worried blob in Cloud's vision. "Is it bad? It's bad, isn't it--?"

"It will be if we don't do something!" Tifa replied, holding Cloud in her lap as if she was his last tether to the planet, and if she let him go, he would fall into a deep, dark abyss, never to return. 

"Then let's do something!" Jessie reappeared, holding a large, white plastic case in one hand. She dropped to her knees on Cloud's other side, plopping the case onto the floor and opening it up, showing a variety of medical supplies from gauze, bandages, antiseptic, two measly potions, and needle and sutures. 

Barret also came over, crouching down on one knee and looking over his ragtag group, doing his duty as their leader to keep them calm and give them direction in their time of need. His voice was oddly soft as he said, "Alright, SOLDIER boy... stay awake, now. Tell us what's wrong."

Cloud blinked away the black dots that had begun swarming his vision, the buzzing in his head growing louder. It took him a moment to find his voice, his mind going back to the fight he had just gotten out of, though it suddenly felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. "I... gunshot. Two gunshots. Think the bullet's still in this one." He twitched his good hand towards the messy wound in his shoulder, then pointed down towards his legs. "Knife to the leg. Made a tourniquet... didn't have potions."

"We have to get that bullet out before we use any potions," Tifa sounded breathless as she spoke, one hand still cradling Cloud's head as the other started to gently stroke his face, as if he was the one who needed comfort. He was probably the calmest one there.

Jessie's face turned slightly green, and she glanced up at Barret, who shook his head. "I can do a lot of things, but I don't have the finesse for that. One of you girls gotta do it." He was a big man. Could he even hold a pair of tweezers?

Swallowing, Jessie nodded, taking a pair of long tweezers out of the medical kit. She shared a look with Tifa, and then the girls both looked down at Cloud again, bracing themselves for what they were about to try to do. He braced himself, too, clenching his jaw as Tifa moved to peel his tattered shirt away from the wound, taking some blood clots and bits of burned skin with it; the pain helped to wake him up and bring him back to the moment, everything becoming loud and clear again as the ringing in his ears faded, replaced by his own pulse pounding in his head. He clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his scraped palms.

"Wait--" Barret turned to the med kit, grabbing a piece of thick gauze and rolling it up like a cigar, then pressing it to Cloud's mouth. "Bite down on this, boy."

Smart. He obeyed, opening his mouth to clamp his teeth around the gauze, then took a deep breath and braced himself as Jessie nervously leaned closer, tweezers in hand. The moment the metal touched his wound, he stiffened, and she flinched back, on the verge of hysterics, "Sorry, I'm sorry! I can't! I can't do this!" She broke off in half of a sob, and Barret rested a hand against her back, trying to calm her down.

_Gods. He had to do everything for himself._ He was in pain, and he wanted it healed. Right _now._

Mustering his willpower as the pain brought on another rush of adrenaline, he brought his good hand up to his shoulder, startling Tifa, who started to protest, "Cloud--"

She broke off as he dug one finger into his wound, pain exploding through his arm, but he was able to feel the bullet pressed against the broken pieces of his collarbone. He groaned loudly into the gauze in his mouth, almost like screaming with his mouth shut, teeth giving into the cloth as he dug the bullet out with his own hand, letting it roll down his chest, bounce off his lap, and clatter to the floor by Jessie's leg. The pain eased a fair bit after that, and he dropped his arm limply down by his side as he uttered a series of groans and whines, chest rising and falling rapidly with his shallow breathing.

"Th-that was badass," Wedge whispered, frozen.

Tifa reached over him to snag one of the potions from the kit, quickly dumping it over him, the liquid dissipating into an aromatic green mist the moment it touched him. Magic flickered over his skin, a heady scent like the inside of a greenhouse cloying his nostrils. He could feel it as his body hastily healed itself, bones dragged back into place as their supporting tissue knitted back together, right arm jerking as a loud _pop_ could be heard from his collarbone as it reconnected, sending another jolt of numbing pain down his arm. His breathing eased, and the constant throb in his leg lessened just slightly.

The second potion was administered right after the first, and Cloud finally felt somewhat human again, instead of like something that had just come out of a blender. He relaxed, slumping in Tifa's lap and spitting out the bit of gauze so he could breathe properly through his mouth again, trying to catch his breath.

"Damn it, Cloud," Tifa whispered in a shaky voice, hugging him close.

He cracked a smile, a single weak chuckle shaking his chest. "What? You heard Wedge... I'm badass."

The others broke into relieved laughter of their own, the tension in the room finally dissipating while Jessie gently started to properly bandage up his half-healed wounds. It was then that Cloud remembered something important, and he lifted his head to gaze across the room at Biggs, who was holding Marlene and rocking back and forth in a soothing manner. "You can look now, Marlene."

Almost immediately, the little girl's head popped up off of Biggs' shoulder, and she turned to look back at everyone, brown eyes round, lashes clumped with tears. She wiped her nose on the back of her hand, asking in a voice hoarse from crying, "A-are you gonna be okay, Cloud? You... the bad guys got you..."

"I'm gonna be fine," Cloud reassured her, moving to sit up, with some help from Tifa holding onto him, and Barret's huge hand pressed against his back. His eyes, so fierce and angry before, glowing with mako, now seemed as bright and gentle as the spring sky, his smile like the sun hesitantly showing up to melt the frost. "Promise."

He was so, _so_ tired, though, and found himself leaning heavily against Tifa. She pressed her face into his hair, still holding him halfway in her lap. "You need to stop scaring us like that, Cloud..."

"Hey." Barret patted him to get his attention, face serious as he repeated what he had been saying earlier, "You saved my Marlene. I... I can't even begin to thank you, Cloud. If something happened to my baby, I..."

"What happened to 'SOLDIER boy?'' Cloud teased lightly, leaning his head against Tifa's shoulder.

Barret blinked, then chuckled, gently ruffling Cloud's hair. "Right." Getting mushy was not their thing, not at all, but they both understood well enough what the other was saying. The big man started to get to his feet, making room for Tifa and Wedge to haul Cloud up, each hooking one of his arms around their shoulders to prop him up between them, while Jessie cleaned up the med kit.

"To the basement?" Wedge asked. "Or you think we can get him back to the apartment?"

"Neither," Barret grunted, jerking his thumb towards the door leading from the bar to the rooms he and Marlene called home. "Take him to my room. The man saved my baby, least I can do is make sure he has a comfortable place to sleep tonight. 'Sides, he still looks like hell, and those potions were all we had. Best to keep an eye on him. Just clean him up first, so he doesn't bleed all over the place, eh?"

"Aww." Jessie grinned. "You really care."

"'Course I do!"

Cloud snorted, his feet shuffling against the floor as the others started dragging him towards the door to the back rooms. "I am _not_ sleeping in your bed."

Barret simply smirked, while Biggs handed Marlene back to him. "Yes, merc, you are. Can't do nothin' about it, either."

He was right about that, because Cloud barely had the strength left to support some of his own weight as Tifa and Wedge hauled him back to Barret's bedroom and helped him out of his bloody clothes. Tifa took a few minutes to clean him up a bit with a wet wash cloth, then tucked him into bed in nothing but his boxers and plenty of gauze wrapped around his torso and thigh. She draped the blankets firmly around him like a fussy mother hen, murmuring, "You're looking a bit shocky... you need to keep warm."

"I know someone who can help with that." Barret's deep bass voice came from the doorway as he appeared in the bedroom, Marlene sitting on his arm. She was cleaned up, too, and in a set of pajamas with tiny blue stars printed on them. "A certain someone wants to help keep an eye on you, merc."

Tifa smiled warmly at Marlene as Barret brought her over, warning her gently, "Be careful, okay? He's breakable right now."

"I'm _fine,_ Tifa..."

"You're pale as a ghost, Cloud." 

Marlene carefully crawled across the mattress as Barret eased her onto the bed, moving to lay beside Cloud, ending up tucked into the blankets along with him. She rested her head on one of the pillows, gazing up at him with round eyes. "You saved me. I'll keep you safe, too. Keep the bad dreams away while you sleep!" She finally smiled for the first time since her rescue, resting one little hand against his cheek. 

A part of Cloud wanted to push away, isolate himself like he always did, but he instead slowly moved his sore arm to drape it over Marlene, letting her come closer to his chest, carefully. "Alright..."

The four-year-old snuggled as close as she dared, wary of his injuries.

Tifa gently stroked both of their heads, the look on her face being one of absolute love and warmth at the sight of their SOLDIER hugging the little girl close. "I'll go finish dinner, and then you two can get some sleep, okay? You need the energy, Cloud; the potions will take a lot out of you." She turned away from the bed, picking the Buster Sword up off the floor and leaning it against the wall, where Cloud could see it, and probably get to it pretty quickly if an emergency arose. She understood him almost a little too well now.

Cloud watched her leave the room, then looking up at Barret, who was still standing there. "You're not going to try to join us, are you?"

Barret snorted, shaking his head. "Smart-ass. Might be just about Marlene's bedtime, but it ain't mine yet. I'll be in the chair over there after I check out what happened." His gaze darkened, and there was a heavy pause.

"Hm. The scrapyard, just beyond the wall." Cloud sighed, retracing his path in his mind. "Take the path that takes you to the shop selling generator fuel. Then take the first right after that, and keep going. You'll see it." He glanced down at Marlene, who was clearly listening to the conversation, looking straight at him, "Should see what's left." Perhaps Barret could find some hints about who they were, and if there were more of them out there.

"Right." Barret nodded, then headed for the door. "Get some rest." Softer, he added, "Daddy will be back soon, Marlene. Keep an eye on Cloud for me."

"I will," Marlene replied, sitting up and smiling over at him. 

The big man smiled back, then left, calling to Biggs and Wedge to get ready to go check out the scene with him. At least he was smart enough to bring backup, in case there _were_ more of them skulking around the scrap... though, after what Cloud did to their comrades, he doubted any of them would dare show their faces in Sector 7 again. 

Tifa and Jessie came in with dinner a few minutes later, sitting at the foot of the bed to eat their own while Cloud and Marlene leaned against the pillows. It was definitely weird, being in Barret's room, his bed sheets smelling strongly of leather and aftershave, with his daughter cuddled up against his side, but Cloud did his best to put his discomfort out of his mind, focusing on scraping every last bit of rice off his plate with his spoon. Potions did rely partially on the user's own energy to work, and it left him feeling hollow with hunger. 

He accepted when Jessie offered him seconds, but turned down a third plate, instead opting to shift around to get comfortable. Marlene snuggled down with him, and Tifa once again started to tuck them in.

"Need to quit falling asleep in places that aren't my apartment," Cloud complained, draping his arm around Marlene as she curled up at his chest. 

Tifa chuckled, fixing the blankets up over his shoulder. "To do that, you need to quit getting hurt and worrying us. We all care about you, Cloud..." Though her tone was light, her eyes were sincere, and Cloud found himself unable to meet them, awkwardly looking away. Judging by the way Tifa chuckled again, his face had flushed slightly pink, and he gave a soft grunt of embarrassment. 

"Cloud is a hero, though!" Marlene piped up, gently tracing the edge of one of his bandages with one finger. "He promised he'd keep me safe from bad guys."

"Did he?" Tifa inquired, and Cloud blushed harder, turning his face into his pillow. "I guess we'll all just have to help him, then, so he doesn't get hurt like this for us. We'll be a team."

A team. Why did it hurt his heart so much to think about that? Why did he want them all to just rely on him, let him take the abuse for them, so he would never have to see them hurt...? It was like... he had seen it all before... something, some _one_ was missing, and it was his fault for not being strong enough... For just a moment, he could almost picture that person's face, cobalt blue eyes infused with mako staring back into his own cornflower blue gaze, mouth stretched wide in a cocky grin. 

"That includes you, Marlene," she added cheerfully, drawing him from his thoughts. "You keep him safe tonight, okay? Make sure he's warm, and has happy dreams."

"I will!" Marlene agreed, and Cloud suddenly thought about what a strong child she was, to come out of such a traumatizing experience with the ability to smile. She really was so wholly good that no evil could touch her, and unstoppable ray of sunshine chasing away even the darkest of shadows. Maybe he really would be free of his nightmares, just for one night.

Tifa leaned close, pressing a kiss to Marlene's head, and gave Cloud a look that made him glare at her. _Don't even think about it._ She chuckled, opting to just smooth her hand over his wispy blonde hair. "Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, Tifa," Marlene replied, squirming around to get comfortable and closing her eyes.

"'Night, Tifa," Cloud muttered, letting out a sigh. He listened as her footsteps receded, the light flicking off, leaving him and Marlene in darkness. Faint, busy sounds still came from the bar as Tifa and Jessie talked, cleaning up after dinner. He didn't really listen to their conversation, just finding a bit of comfort in the hum of their voices. It was better, he thought, than silence.

It took some time, but Cloud eventually fell asleep in the unfamiliar room, one arm hooked protectively around Marlene as she lay curled against his chest. That was how Barret found them when he returned later in the night and plopped into the battered old recliner in the corner, dozing off with his gun in his lap, a sentry ready to leap up at a moment's notice. 

At one point, dark thoughts came creeping in, causing Cloud to shift around and whine in his sleep, but then Barret's eyes flicked open, and one of Marlene's little hands grasped his fingers, and he quieted once more.


	3. For the Love of Cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 9000 words long! X'D I maybe went a little nutty with it, with all the different characters. It's got some elements of hiding an injury, some sickfic elements, some of Cloud's headaches/hallucinations, and some good old bonding time between him, Wedge, and... one of Wedge's cats? 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has left comments so far! It's super encouraging to read them and I hope people will continue to tell me what they like and what they're hoping to see in future chapters! >v

Flies buzzed over the half-eaten corpse of the cat, the poor creature laying on its side just inside the scrapyard, its pelt ripped open and the majority of its middle section gone. Its head, tail, and paws were still intact, clinging to its mangled skeleton as its pale eyes stared blankly ahead in a permanent squint, mouth hanging slightly open, white fur coated in dust and caked in dried blood. The poor thing had only been dead for a day or two at most, likely having been killed not long after its owner reported it missing to the neighborhood watch. A simple collar made from a strip of worn blue fabric was still around its neck, a tiny silver bell hanging under its chin. 

Cloud knelt down beside the cat's body, the swarm of flies quickly flitting away as he reached down to slip the collar from around its neck, looking down at it with a sigh. "Guess we won't be bringing this one home. We can at least bring its collar back, give its family some closure. Better to know what happened to it than always be wondering."

Wedge simply gave a whimper, his back turned to the sad, grisly scene of the cat's corpse. He had three cats of his own, so Cloud could understand how it was hard on him to see someone else's furry friend in such a state. His hands were shaking slightly.

Tifa gently rubbed one of Wedge's arms, trying to soothe him, then suggested lightly, "Why don't we give it a proper burial before we go on? Would be better than leaving it here for the flies."

"Huh? Y-yeah, let's do that," Wedge agreed, finally turning to look down at Cloud, though still averting his gaze from the cat. "Please?"

Internally, he sighed, but nodded, tucking the cat's collar into one of his pockets. "Sure."

They scrounged up some makeshift digging tools from the scrap, loosening the packed, dry earth with a sharp piece of metal and then scooping it out with an old bucket. It didn't have to be a very big hole, since the cat was small, but they dug it deep enough that it wasn't likely to be dug up and snacked on again by whatever had killed it. Tifa found an old burlap sack and wrapped the cat in it like a burial shroud. Though she did seem a little grossed out by the smell of the partially-decayed corpse, she kept a straight face, and gently lowered the wrapped body into the hole, then stood back as Cloud covered it up, burying it safely in the earth. 

As Cloud packed the dirt flat with his boot, Wedge wandered up with an old fence post and jabbed it into the ground at one end of the grave. He gave a sad smile, musing, "Sorry we don't have a proper tombstone, little guy... but this should help your family find you to pay you a visit, once we take care of those rats."

Tifa smiled softly at him, patting his arm. "We'll let them know where to look, once it's safe for them to come here."

"Yeah. After we take care of those rats." Cloud scowled as he gazed out over the scrapyard, eyes narrowed against the sun; even in the bright light, they seemed to shimmer with the mako running through him. "They're getting bold if they're going after cats. It's only a matter of time before they try attacking people." 

"We won't let that happen!" Wedge clenched his fists, a look of determination on his round face. "They won't be making lunch out of any more cats, _or_ people!"

"Let's get to it, then!" Tifa rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms out, cracking her knuckles. "Those wererats aren't going to hunt themselves."

The troupe set out, following one of the scrappers' paths through the garbage and ruin. They spotted the occasional normal rat, which skittered away in fear at the sight of the humans; they left them be. Those things were eaten _by_ cats, not the other way around. Their prey was much larger, much more dangerous, and getting far too ballsy to be let alone. 

Cloud spotted the first signs of their quarry by an old wooden shack set against the side of a short but steep hill in the sand; he held up one hand to tell his companions to stop, and they did so, falling into battle ready stances behind him. He crept forward, eyes on the holes he could see dug into the base of the hill. Burrows. Bits of garbage were littered at their entrances, perhaps being used as bedding for offspring, or having been the remnants of past meals stolen from the people of the slums. There was even a patch of feathers sprinkled on the ground, as if one of the desert birds had made the mistake of alighting on the ground, and quickly been killed and eaten. The damn things had a taste for meat, alright.

As he rounded a pile of old pipes, he spotted movement at the entrance of one of the burrows, and a head poked out. It was a wererat, alright, with its enlarged nose, bat-like ears, and shriveled lips pulled back from rows of sharp fangs. Its tiny, beady eyes were sunken so far into its skull it didn't even look like it _had_ eyes, just flickering eyelids over nearly nonexistent sockets. 

Apparently, it heard them coming, because it shrieked, and the other burrows came alive with movement. Cloud quickly pulled the Buster Sword from his back, warning his friends, "Get ready! Here they come!"

Wedge nervously yelped at the sight of the massive, grotesque rodents that came writhing out of their dens. They had far more muscle than one would expect such a creature to have, making them clumsy and slow, especially since they liked to rise up onto their hind legs to use their long, sharp claws on their front feet to attack with. Still, they were heavy, mean, and attacked in swarms -- underestimating them could lead someone to a world of hurt. 

"Don't get surrounded!" Cloud barked, sweeping the Buster Sword in a circle at about knee-height, sending a few of the rats flying back as they swarmed towards them. "Tifa, use your Ice materia!" 

"Got it!" She leaped up and slammed her feet down on one rat's spine, standing on the writhing, screeching creature as she summoned a round of ice magic through the bracelet on her wrist. Frigid air gathered around her, a harsh contrast to the hot sun, and as she lurched forward to slam one gloved fist into another rat's jaw, spikes of ice shot out in front of her. They skewered the rat she had struck, its skin turning blue from cold, corpse freezing before it could even bleed. 

Wedge lacked the talent for magic, but he _did_ send a storm of bullets at the swarm, causing them to falter, break up, and become disorganized as they scrambled over their wounded brethren. It was an unusually large swarm, possibly due to some kind of breeding season, so Cloud was internally glad he had let Wedge come along. The extra manpower was a lot of help.

"This is for the _caaaat!_ " Wedge shrieked, sounding both panicked and angered, his semi-automatic weapon firing nearly nonstop. 

Cloud couldn't help a faint snort of almost-laughter at Wedge's battle cry, then focused on taking out as many of the rodents as he could. "Stay close to Tifa! Watch each other's backs!" He threw himself into the fray with a burst of Fire magic, leaping through the smoke and embers to slam his blade down on one of the beasts, nearly cleaving one of its limbs right off. It shrieked, and its allies swarmed towards him, angered by its brother's cry. 

"Come and get some," Cloud snarled, glancing back to make sure the others were a safe distance away before letting himself get lost in the momentum of the fight. He swung the Buster Sword around him in a flurry of blows, "throwing it around like a baton," as Biggs would say. When he let himself just focus on the feeling of its bulk in his hands, using his own body as a counterweight, spinning and dancing around, it was like the world just faded away, and there was nothing but the adrenaline in his veins and the ghost of a familiar voice shouting encouragement at him from somewhere deep in the recesses of his memory. He couldn't place the name, but when he saw the Buster Sword gleam in the light as he swung it in another arc in front of him, he could almost picture the face. 

Tifa and Wedge kept back as they saw Cloud go into "Punisher Mode," as Wedge fondly liked to call it. A majority of the rats began to focus on the swordsman as they seemed to realize the threat he posed, or were perhaps just ticked at their friends getting cleaved in half, giving the other two enough of a breather to pause and stare at him in awe.

"He's _so_ cool," Wedge breathed, meeting Tifa's eyes with a grin.

"Yeah... he is," she agreed, though pride and concern warred with one another.

"Eyes open!" Cloud suddenly barked at them, snapping them back to reality just as a rat much larger than the rest reared its ugly head, appearing atop a pile of scrap metal. Its teeth and claws were stained black, its patchy fur reeking of rot and disease. The thing shrieked and threw itself off its perch, diving straight for Tifa.

Wedge caught the young woman by her arm and swung her around, yelping, "Look out!"

Tifa gasped, ripped to the side just in time, the rat's fur brushing her leg as it leaped past. She glanced up at Wedge, giving a quick, "Thanks," before focusing her energy on the Ice materia at her disposal. Frost lightly dusted her thick leather gloves, and as she exhaled, her breath came out in a cloud of fog. "We've got a doomrat!" 

"I know!" Cloud growled from where he finished dispatching one of the many smaller rats, trying to get free of the remainder of the swarm so he could turn his attention to the much more dangerous opponent. Doomrats were a bit larger than their common brethren, but more importantly, they were far more intelligent. 

Intelligent enough to target the one with the materia it was weak to first. 

The doomrat ignored the boys, diving for Tifa again, forcing her to leap back and dodge its advances. Wedge started shooting at it, but it didn't even seem to feel the bullets peppering its hide, continuing to charge at Tifa, forcing her to keep backing up to avoid getting bitten or clawed. She cursed, clumsily sending out a wave of Ice at it, but it wasn't giving her the chance for a proper attack. She was the best at close-quarters combat with her fighting style, but she had her limitations when a diseased animal was trying to sink its teeth into the meat of her legs.

"Back _off!"_ She fiercely swung out in a kick, managing to catch it in the chin with her toes, spinning with the attack to slam the other boot into its face and force it to stop, or at least slow down. With that free moment it granted her, she fired off the strongest hit of Ice magic she could muster, sapping a significant amount of her strength into the wave of cold that crashed down on the doomrat like a sudden blizzard. 

It shrieked in pain, skin blistering from the sheer cold, and Tifa could finally get away from it, leaping up onto one of the huge old pipes nearby and vaulting herself off of it to jump over the rat, getting out of the corner it was trying to force her into. She landed in a more open area, Wedge rushing to her side, and together, they rained pain down on it to finish it off.

Cloud was relieved when the others seemed to regain control of the doomrat situation without getting seriously hurt. It allowed him to focus on the mass of the swarm once more, as all the little guys were still insistent on coming after him. He cursed as they kept rushing around his legs, trying to surround him, and clenched his fist, summoning the opposite kind of energy that Tifa used; his Fire materia. He glanced at the shed by the entrances of the burrows, and made the split-second decision to launch a fireball straight at the creatures' home. Any of them that were still lurking in the shelter would be fried, along with any juveniles hiding in the burrows. Best to exterminate the whole swarm.

The rats screamed as the shed caught fire, embers spraying out from the flames and igniting the bits of garbage at the mouths of their burrows. The whole thing was going up in flames in a matter of moments, the hot, dry environment doing nothing to stop the inferno. He could see silhouettes of rats running about inside the shed in a panic, trapped inside by the flames, some of their allies rushing towards them as if to help, only to stop on the other side of the wall of fire, shrieking helplessly. Smoke billowed from the structure, from the holes in the hill, staining the sky black.

A keening sound came to Cloud's ears, audible even above the rats screaming in pain and anger, and his vision wavered, blots of light flickering in front of his eyes. He stumbled to the side, the world tinted a pale aquamarine color around him, pain shooting through his head like an electrical shock. For a few fleeting moments, he wasn't in the scrapyard anymore, watching a shed burn... he was in a village, flames all around him, and it was a house that was lit up like a bonfire. The wood crackled, windows shattered, curtains charred black... for a moment, he thought he could see someone standing inside, a motionless silhouette with pale hair glowing in the light of the flames--

A sudden pain in his side snapped him out of the flashback, and Cloud was suddenly back in Sector 7, finding himself thrown to the ground with a furious wererat on top of him. He cursed, twisting around to grab it by the head, jamming his thumb into its tiny eye socket; it shrieked in pain, releasing its bite hold, and he threw it off of him, sending it tumbling into the dust. Its friends were all around him, though, and it was a fight to get back to his feet as they all threw themselves at him while he was down.

"Shit!" It hurt, somehow, to reach into himself and find the energy to cast Fire again, his heart pounding with fear and anguish as the flames danced at his fingertips and rushed outward, the acrid smell of burnt skin and hair filling the air. He did it anyway, forcing down his internal panic and narrowing his eyes with focus. "Just fucking _die_ already!"

"Cloud!" He heard one of his friends call out to him, but he once again became a Punisher, turning his fear into anger to fuel him. The others could simply watch as he moved like a human storm, silhouetted by the light of the flames behind him as he slaughtered what remained of the wererats. He didn't stop until every single one was dead, the ground spattered in blood as the flames began to die out as quickly as they had been lit, running out of flammable material to feed them. The shed crumbled into a pile of splinters, and the burrows lay empty, aside from a faint curl of smoke drifting from their mouths. 

When it was finally done, he rested the end of the Buster Sword against the ground and leaned onto the handle, using it as a crutch as he took a moment to catch his breath. 

"Oh, yeah! We got 'em all!" Wedge crowed from off to the right, and Cloud looked up to see him sneering down at the dead rats, "That's what you get for eating a poor innocent cat!"

Tifa walked over to him, rubbing at a bruise forming on her side. "Hey, you okay?"

"I should be asking you that," he replied, straightening up a bit. "I was fine over here. You two spaced out right when that doomrat showed up."

"We're fine," she reassured him with a smile. "I can handle an overgrown rabid gerbil."

"Yeah?" He smirked, calming down at the familiar banter they exchanged, Wedge still hurling insults at the rats in the background. "Guess neither of us need to worry so much, then."

She chuckled at that, nodding, then turned away without pestering him any further. Good, because he really _didn't_ want to worry her, or anyone else. He had done enough of that lately. That and sleeping in places that weren't his apartment, apparently.

With the others' backs turned, he glanced down at his side, where that damn wererat had actually managed to bit him. It was hard to see against the dark fabric of his shirt, but it didn't feel too bad... it'd be fine once he got a chance to get home and clean up. He really just wanted some time to himself after having a flashback of his hometown burning in front of him. 

Cloud hefted the Buster Sword onto his back and followed after the others as they headed back the way they had come, feeling victorious after a job well done. He remembered the cat's collar in his pocket when they passed by its grave, and took it out, looking down at the little silver bell. "Hey, Wedge. Here... think the family might take the news better from a fellow cat lover."

"Oh... r-right, yeah. I can do it," Wedge agreed, holding his hand out for the collar. He gazed at it softly, then nodded. "I _want_ to do it. I'll tell them about where we buried it, too."

"Want me to come with you?" Tifa offered.

"Sure, thanks. If they start crying, _I'll_ start crying..."

Cloud waved them off as they passed through the gate into the slums, watching them head for the house that would not get its missing pet back. He then took a breath and pressed a hand to his aching side, and shuffled towards home.

He wasn't normally one for long showers, but when he got home, he couldn't help but just stand there under the weak spray of lukewarm water, leaning against the shower, arm to the wall, head on his arm. His thoughts were going a million miles an hour, going back to the fire, replaying the flashback again and again, along with the one he had a while back, right after his first mission with Avalanche. The one where he saw... _him._ Spoke to him. It had seemed so real, and the one he had earlier was no different.

Sighing, Cloud straightened up and raked his fingers through his tangled blond hair, brushing the wet strands away from his face. He glanced down at his stomach, trying to focus on the real, tangible problems that he could do something about. Like the bite mark in his side, just above his hip, wrapping around from his back to his stomach. The damn wererat had gotten him good, that was for sure... purple bruising framed the wound, ragged teeth marks clearly visible, leaving holes in the muscle of his stomach and back. They weren't deep enough to hit anything important, at most just scraping his hip bone, but not breaking it. If it _was_ damaged, it would have been limping on the way back, and his leg was fine.

He took the time to wash the wound out the best he could, gritting his teeth at the pain that came from touching it at all whatsoever, nevermind with _soap_. He then shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing the ratty blue towel Tifa had given him from her own supply shortly after he moved in.

Standing in the tiny bathroom that was no bigger than a closet, he carefully patted himself dry and put on the sweatpants he had gotten to sleep in. He then sat on the lid of the toilet, grabbed the first aid kit he had stowed by the sink, and set to work fixing himself up. He started by spraying the wound with a topical antiseptic and anesthetic, both disinfecting and numbing the wound, then threaded a needle to suture the worst of the bite marks closed. They only needed two or three stitches a piece. He couldn't reach the ones on his back to stitch them, but they all felt pretty shallow, so they would be fine. After half a dozen stitches or so, he pressed pads of gauze to his front and back, and wound bandages all around his middle to hold them in place. 

"That should do it..." He taped everything in place, then washed off the needle in the sink and closed up the med kit. 

It wasn't late by any means, but he didn't have the energy or desire to do anything else. His friends would likely all be at the bar, but... he didn't want to bother with making small talk tonight. So, he opted to pull a t-shirt on, grab a packet of dried meat and fruit from the box of rations in his closet, and climb into bed. He curled up on his uninjured side, pulling the book he was reading out from under his pillow. He'd see if he could get through a chapter or two while snacking on a simple dinner. Dried food wasn't as good as fresh, but it was familiar -- he traveled so much that he ate a lot of lightweight, nonperishable things over the years. He didn't mind it at all. 

Nobody bothered him in the coming two hours, allowing him some peace and quiet before he slid the book back under his pillow and turned out the lights. If Tifa checked on him, she did so after he fell asleep.

...

.....

...

"Aww, you guys did the right thing." Jessie sympathetically smiled as Wedge finished telling the tale of the cat burial. They were sitting at a table in Seventh Heaven, finishing a simple breakfast while waiting for Barrett to start the meeting downstairs for their next mission. "I'm sure it's owners appreciated that."

Wedge nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, they did... they cried when I gave them the collar and told them Spunky wasn't coming home, but they were glad we buried him and took out the monsters who did that to him. It was actually Cloud's idea to take the collar back."

"Speaking of Cloud, what's he up to? He wasn't here last night," Biggs asked as he slowly sipped a mug of black coffee. With sugar, of course. 

"I dunno. He went right home after, I think..." Wedge scratched his head, then fixed his bandana over his short brown hair. "Guess he didn't feel up to hanging out."

Tifa looked over at them from the bar, where she was washing the pan she had used to cook with in the sink. "Cloud's always been pretty quiet and introverted, ever since we were kids. He likes being around us, but sometimes he just needs time to himself to rest and recharge, you know? I checked on him last night when I got back to the apartment, and he was already sound asleep." She rinsed off the pan, then started drying it off with a hand towel. "He'll probably show up soon."

The door to the back rooms opened, and Barret stepped out, Marlene sitting in the crook of his elbow. Her hair was freshly brushed and shiny, betraying the fact that Barret was late to start the meeting because he had been giving her a bath. She had been too stubborn about going to bed the night before to get a bath on time, so it had waited until morning, not that anyone could be mad at her for it. She was too damn cute, especially when she smiled and waved at them all. "Good morning!"

"Morning, cutie!" Jessie greeted, hopping out of her seat and trotting over to lightly boop her nose with one fingertip. "Mind if we steal your old man for a while?"

"Daddy's not old!" Marlene laughed, but let Barret put her down.

"You tell 'em, honey," he rumbled affectionately, watching her scamper off to a corner to play with some toy Chocobos in the corner. They were some new fad up top, with kids collecting plastic Chocobos in all colors, covered in synthetic feathers to make them look and feel soft and fluffy, like the real thing. He had Biggs swing by a shop to get some for her, to make up for how busy he had been lately, making sure to tell him to get her favorite colors; pink, yellow, and white. 

Barret led the way to the pinball machine that would take them downstairs, glancing over at Tifa. "You joining us today?"

"Sure..." She nodded, putting the clean pan away, and turned to walk over to Marlene while the others headed down. "Hey, sweetie? If Cloud comes by, can you tell him to stay here until we're done?"

The little girl looked up, nodding. "Okay! He can play Chocobos with me." She held up the yellow one, adding with a big smile, "I named this one Cloud, cause it's yellow like his hair."

Tifa suppressed a laugh, smiling back at her. "You be sure to tell him its name when he shows up. Remember not to let any strangers in, okay? And come downstairs if you need us." 

"I know," Marlene reassured her, turning back to her toys. Tifa left her in peace, heading downstairs after the others, giving Marlene the run of the place upstairs. She started up an imaginary game with herself, setting the pink and white Chocobos up on the bar counter, then running to the far end of the room with the yellow one, having it hop round the floor, tables, and chairs, narrating the story to herself, "Cloud the Chocobo has to save his family after they got stolen by the bad guys..." 

She made it kick imaginary bad guys, flailing the toy at the air and making dramatic sound effects. All around the room she went, the yellow Chocobo going on a grand adventure to save his family. She was just about to get to the part where the final boss was beaten and the family was rescued when there was a soft knock at the door, and she stopped, turning to look over her shoulder. She waited a moment, then heard the knock again.

"Tifa? Tifa, honey, are you there?" It was an old lady's voice, and she sounded upset.

"Tifa's busy!" Marlene called, petting the fake feathers on her toy. 

"Marlene, is that you? It's me, Marle!" Oh! The nice old lady who had the same name as her. They called her 'Marle' for short, so they didn't get them mixed up. _She_ wasn't a stranger.

Trotting over to the door, Marlene unlocked it and swung it open, smiling up at the old lady on the other side. "Hi!" 

"Hi, sweetheart," Marle gently petted her head with one hand, then stepped past her into the bar, looking around. She still seemed upset, even though she was being really nice. "Where's Tifa? I have to talk to her."

"She's... busy." Nobody was supposed to go downstairs without Daddy's permission, not even Marle. 

The grey-haired lady looked back at her, a frown on her wrinkled face. "Sweetie, it's very important. I need to talk to her. It's about Cloud."

"Cloud?" She blinked, tightening her grip on her yellow Chocobo. "Is he in trouble?"

"No, no, everything's fine, sweetie!" She was quick to reassure her, though Marlene didn't believe her. She wouldn't be so upset and insistent on talking to Tifa if everything was fine. "I just need to talk to Tifa. Where is she?"

Marlene hesitated a moment longer, then said, "I'll get her." She couldn't let Marle downstairs, but she could go down and get Tifa, and bring her back up. She trotted to the counter to set her yellow toy with the others, then headed for the pinball machine, reaching under it to hit the secret button that would trigger the lift with a jingle of music. "You stay here! Daddy says nobody else is allowed downstairs!"

"Okay, honey, I'll wait here." Marle obediently sat in a chair at one of the tables, though she kept drumming her fingers on the wood, as if unable to sit still.

She was feeling pretty worried as the lift brought her down to the secret base under the bar, all the grown-ups turning to look at her from their seats at the table when they heard the familiar jingle. Papers were laid out in front of them, and Biggs had a pencil behind his ear; he would probably forget about it and wonder where he had put it, thinking he lost it. It was always funny when he did that... No! Focus! 

"Hey, angel, everything okay?" Her Daddy asked, holding his hand out to her. She trotted over to him, and he scooped her up into his lap with ease. It was comforting, and she leaned against his chest as she looked over to Tifa and told her, "The other Marlene is here. She said she has to talk to you, and it's very important. It's about Cloud."

"Cloud?" Tifa stiffened, sharing a look with the others. They all had the same look in their wide eyes; the one that asked, _Did some of our enemies find him?_ There was no reason for Marle to come out to the bar and insist on speaking to her if something wasn't terribly wrong. 

Tifa quickly headed for the lift, the others rising from their chairs to follow after her. Barret and Marlene got on with her, while the other three had to stay and wait for a second trip, since the lift couldn't hold that many people at one time. As it rose up to the first floor, they found Marle sitting in one of the chairs, anxiously drumming her fingers on the tabletop while tapping her foot on the floor. The old woman looked up as they arrived, relief on her face, "Tifa."

"Marle? What's wrong?" Tifa hurried over to her landlady, practically radiating anxiety. "Is Cloud okay?"

"Everything is fine, dear," Marle said, casting a glance at Marlene, who was still being held by her father.

Barret followed her eyes and nodded, setting Marlene down and suggesting, "Why don't you go play with your Chocobos? We'll take care of everything."

"Mmm..." She anxiously glanced between the adults as they were joined by Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge, then hesitantly nodded and wandered over to the bar counter, stretching up to reach for her toys.

With the child mostly out of earshot, Marle finally got to the point, rising to her feet and gently grasping Tifa's wrist. "I was doing a bit of tidying up this morning, sweeping the walkway up to your rooms, when I ran into Cloud on his way out. He didn't look so good. I had him go back inside and let me take a look at him. Took a bit of wrangling, but I got him to show me what looks like an infected rat bite; he's burning up with fever, and you know how those filthy vermin get."

"Oh no..." Tifa's heart dropped to her toes, and she heard Wedge groan behind her. Neither had even noticed he had gotten bitten yesterday.

"I told him to wash it out and lie down. I can only hope he's doing as he was told." Marle shook her head, pressing her thin lips into a line. "I'm sure he'll be fine if he gets some rest, but he could also use some medicine to fight off the infection before it gets any worse. There's an apothecary in Sector 5 that makes the best herbal medicines this part of Midgar. I'd go myself but it would take me until tomorrow to be back with it, so I came to tell you... or one of you..." She waved her hand at the whole crew gathered. "To go and get it."

"I think I know the place." Biggs scratched his chin. "It's by the orphanage, right?"

"Yes! Good, you know it!" Marle replied, raising her hands.

Nodding, Biggs explained, "Yeah, I visit the kids at the orphanage from time to time. I know Sector 5 pretty well... I can go get the medicine and be back by nightfall, if I go now."

"I should get back and make sure Cloud's still home," Tifa said anxiously, not sure if he would listen to Marle and stay put. He wasn't exactly an obedient child like Marlene. Being out in the heat with a fever was just asking for him to get dehydrated or even suffer heatstroke, and the infection wouldn't get any better with him running around and putting himself into more dire situations before he was back up to full health. 

"I-I'll come, too!" Wedge put in, a guilty look on his face. "I should have noticed he got hurt yesterday, or at least asked if he was okay after the fight... I guess all I can do for him now is sit on him if he refuses to get rest, huh?" He smiled a bit, trying to muster some of his usual cheer.

"Me, too! Cloud is stubborn, but he can't out-stubborn _me_ ," Jessie added with a grin.

"Hey now, you can't all go to the man's tiny apartment," Barret started, but Jessie and Wedge seemed to blatantly ignore him as they headed for the door, Biggs right behind them with Marle at his side as she told him about the medicine to get. The big man sighed, then turned to his daughter, standing forlornly in the corner with her fluffy Chocobo toys. "Well, guess you and Daddy are gonna have a day together, Marlene! What do you say?"

She cheered up pretty quickly at that, bursting into a smile. "Okay!"

Thus, the group split up, with Tifa leading the way to the apartment building with Jessie and Wedge right behind her. The three were all stressing about the idea of Cloud venturing out on his own while unwell, fully prepared to arrive to an empty room as they tromped up the stairs and headed to the middle door. Tifa just knocked once, grabbed the knob, and opened the door while calling, "We're coming in, Cloud!"

They were, surprisingly, not met with an empty room. Rather, they were met with a fairly grumpy-looking Cloud standing in the middle of the room, drying his hands on a towel as if he had just washed them. His face was pale, except for where it was noticeably flushed over his cheekbones and neck, and he was shirtless, his torso bare aside from the bandages wound around his lower stomach. He fixed them all with a fierce scowl, saying dryly, "Come in, I guess."

"Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?" Tifa demanded, stepping up to him and staring into his glassy blue eyes. 

"Because it wasn't anything to make a big deal out of," he replied grouchily, turning away to hang the towel on its hook by the open doorway of the tiny bathroom. "I've dealt with worse, lots of times." 

Wedge frowned, squeezing into the apartment behind Tifa. "Aw, come on, bro. We're a team, we're supposed to be honest with each other."

"I'm not your bro." Cloud sighed, still clearly annoyed, "And I _am_ being honest. I didn't think it was a big deal, not worth worrying anyone over."

It seemed to click with Jessie first, as she hopped over to him and leaned so her face was right under his, forcing him to meet her eyes even when he tried to duck his head away. "Is that it? You just didn't want us to _worry?_ Come on! That isn't what Tifa meant when she said you should stop worrying us so much! What she meant is you need some better luck!" 

"Can't rely on luck."

"Apparently!"

Tifa blinked, then said in a softer voice, "I'm sorry, Cloud. I didn't mean that you should keep everything to yourself..."

"It's fine. I'm fine. Really, you guys don't need to be here." He shook his head, stepping away from Jessie. "I don't need to tell you every time I get a papercut."

"That's a pretty big papercut," Jessie's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she eyed his bandages. 

Taking a breath, Tifa steeled herself and stepped forward, grabbing Cloud's arm. That surprised him, making him look up to meet her eyes as she said sternly, "Cloud. You're clearly sick. You look awful."

Jessie mumbled softly, "I dunno, looks pretty good to me... damn."

Ignoring her, Tifa continued, "Just sit down and let me take a look, okay? Everyone is worried, even Marle, and Barret. Biggs is on his way to get medicine for you."

Cloud's face twisted into another scowl. "Really?"

"Yes!" She stomped one foot, tightening her grip on his arm when he tried to pull away. "Now quit being difficult and let me see! Or so help me I'll have Wedge pin you down so I can!"

"Uh, y-yeah!" Wedge put in, squaring his shoulders and trying to stand a little taller to look intimidating. He was heavier than Cloud, that was for sure, even if he wasn't necessarily stronger... he could _probably_ hold him down by actually sitting on him like he joked about earlier. "Don't make me come over there, bro!"

For a moment, Cloud just looked at them like they had grown three heads, surprised by the fact that they were trying to _threaten_ him into seeing one small injury. He blinked, made a soft sound in his throat, then sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, whatever... just... shut the door, would you? You're making a scene."

Wedge grinned, happily turning to shut the apartment door while Cloud moved to sit on the edge of his bed. Jessie hung back, crossing her arms over her chest, while Tifa knelt down by the bed and reached out to find the edge of the bandages and peel them back before Cloud could do it for himself. He sighed again, but just rested his hands on the mattress, doing his best to hold still as Tifa drew the gauze away from the bite marks along his side, shifting to look at both his back and stomach. 

"How didn't we notice this...?" She murmured, gently touching the swollen, marred skin. Cloud flinched at the touch, and she drew her hand back, adding, "Sorry..." She sighed, leaning closer to get a better look. "It's definitely infected."

"It's not bad," Cloud insisted, repeating, "I've had worse."

"And this is going to _be_ worse if you don't take it easy," Jessie told him, keeping her distance so she wouldn't have to see all the gross details like Tifa, but seeing enough. "Wererat bites are no joke. They're like, riddled with disease."

"So I've heard," he muttered dryly.

Wedge stepped up to the others, smiling down at Cloud. "Aw, come on. You're always working so hard, Cloud. Just take it easy for a little while until you're healed, okay?"

Once again, Cloud found himself outnumbered, glancing between the three people in his apartment and heaving an even more dramatic sigh than before, "Fine..." 

Tifa let out a breath and smiled at him as she straightened up. "Good." She lightly poked his forehead, earning a funny look that almost made her laugh; it was so easy to confuse him with little gestures of affection. Or threatening to have Wedge sit on him. "Now lie down. We're not going to let you do anything." 

"Sounds like fun," he griped, leaning down to take off his shoes. He was still wearing them after trying to leave that morning and being stopped by Marle. Then he drew his legs up on the bed and shifted to sit back against the headboard, fixing them all with an impatient look. "Are you all just going to stand around and watch me sit here?"

"Well, as tempting as that is, no," Jessie purred, tilting her head, and Cloud suddenly snatched a t-shirt off the bed and started to put it on, as if he had forgotten he was topless. She chuckled, adding, "You probably don't feel too great right now, but you're gonna need to eat something then. I guess I'll head back to my place and get a soup stock going using one of my mom's recipes. She used to make it for me when I was feverish; it's super easy on your system." 

Wedge marched over to the bed, promptly sitting on the edge of it. "I'm going to keep you company and make sure you stay right here!"

The girls laughed at that, and both actually started towards the door. Tifa looked back at the boys, reassuring them, "I'm going to help Marle do a little cleaning up. You gave her quite a scare this morning... I won't be far if you need me, okay?"

"Right!" Wedge gave a thumbs up, while Cloud just sighed yet again. 

"See you soon, handsome!" Jessie called, leading the way outside, Tifa shutting the door behind them.

That left the boys, and Wedge was being pretty stubborn for once, staying in his spot and not shying away even when Cloud gave him an annoyed look. He just kept smiling, resting his hands on his knees as he sat there like a guard. Or a babysitter. That seemed more apt. 

"Can't catch a break..." Cloud mumbled, shifting to lie down on his uninjured side like he had last night. 

Wedge hummed in agreement, even if not for the same reasons that Cloud was muttering. He lightly tapped his knees, gazing about the room, eyes falling on the Buster Sword. It was leaning against the wall right by the bed, shining softly in the light. He never really noticed how scarred its surface was, covered in dings and scratches from years of serious use, and he suddenly remembered what Cloud had said about the sword when Biggs first showed him ways to fix it up back when he joined the neighborhood watch. _We've been through a lot._

"Hey... Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"You've seen a lot, haven't you?"

Cloud turned his head to look up at him, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean..." Wedge lightly tapped his heel against the floor a few times, thinking over his words. "You've fought a lot of stuff. Like, horrible, awful stuff that would make a person like me turn and run the other way. Not just literally, like monsters and Shinra robots, but... you've been through a lot."

The blonde was silent, and for a moment, Wedge thought he might react in anger, but as he looked down at him, he could see a faraway look in his blue eyes. That, and an uncomfortable expression on his face. It shocked him, to see Cloud being such an open book, even if for a fleeting moment -- the guy was practically radiating an "I don't wanna talk about it" vibe that gave away so much, ugly truths hiding just beneath the surface.

Despite that vibe, Wedge asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." A simple, blunt answer. 

He nodded, having expected that. "Okay. But if you ever do, I'm here to listen." 

Yet another sigh in a long saga of sighs, but Cloud still had the decency to say, "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem," Wedge replied with a smile, pleased with himself. He could get through to Cloud. He knew he could. Eventually. 

Cloud settled with his head on the pillow, and silence lapsed over the room for a while. Wedge allowed it, just looking around some more, taking in the simplicity of the room, the only decorations being the various battle gear laying around. One of the closet doors hung slightly ajar, showing what few changes of clothes Cloud owned, and a box of what appeared to be nonperishable foods like jerky and granola bars. A guy like him was probably used to eating on the run. Must have been exciting... but still terrible. As much as Wedge wanted to romanticize the kind of awesome, adventurous life Cloud had, there was no doubt that it was not the kind of life anyone should aspire to have. He and Tifa had too much sadness hanging between them.

The silence dragged on for so long that he thought his friend must have fallen asleep, but when he glanced back, he saw Cloud was still awake, staring at the wall. There was now a sheen of sweat over his face, probably from the fever, and his eyes looked heavy and shadowed. He seemed exhausted. 

"You aren't going to sleep?"

"I'm not tired."

"You _look_ tired."

Cloud groaned. "You're starting to sound like Jessie."

Wedge shifted his weight on the mattress, leaning back on his hands. "You should really get some rest. You'll feel better."

"Kinda hard to with you chattering."

"Hey! I was being very quiet."

"Then go back to doing that."

It was Wedge's turn to give an exasperated groan, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He fell back into thought, mulling over the other times Cloud was in need of help from the others... Biggs stayed with him one night, but he had been unconscious after the near-drowning incident. Then Barret and Marlene had been with him the time he took care of those thugs. The morning after, Marlene had told Tifa she kept Cloud's bad dreams away, and Barret agreed... he thought he had just been humoring her, but maybe not.

"Hey, Cloud?"

The hundredth sigh of the day. "What?"

"Do you have nightmares?"

_"What?"_ Cloud looked up sharply. 

Wedge sheepishly looked away from Cloud's blue eyes, so clearly distressed by his question. "Sorry. It's just... sorry."

Cloud shifted around, tucking his head more firmly into his pillow, apparently angry. It didn't last, though, because after a minute or two of tense silence, he muttered, "Yeah, I do. Don't worry about it." 

"So that's why you don't want to sleep?"

"I said don't worry about it."

"Sorry."

It made a lot of sense, though. It was probably hard to rest when bad dreams crept up on you. 

"Can I help somehow?"

"What?"

"With the nightmares."

"Could hit me over the head with a frying pan."

_"No!"_

"Then, no."

Wedge whined, then straightened up. "Wait! I got it!" He hopped to his feet, hurrying towards the door while saying to a bewildered Cloud, "Stay right there! Don't move! I'll be back!"

He rushed outside and down the stairs of the walkway, passing by Tifa and Marle smoothing the railing with sandpaper. They both looked up and opened their mouths as if to ask where he was going, but he just said, "I'll be right back! I've got something that can help Cloud!" 

Excited by his idea, he hurried all the way to his house, feeling out of breath by the time he arrived, but still ready to go. Glancing around the clearing outside his house, he called, "Biggums! Reggie! Smalls!"

Just a few seconds after his call, three near-identical calico cats appeared, scurrying towards him from various little nooks and crannies they had been hiding in. The triplets meowed and purred loudly, rubbing up against his legs in greeting, and he bent down to pet them. "I've got a mission for you guys! I need you to help my friend, Cloud."

Reggie meowed at him, while the other two twitched their noses, ears flicking. Biggums and Smalls weren't as laid-back as their brother, so he opted to take Reggie along for his plan and let the other two be. He was the only person Biggums and Smalls really liked, and it would be a hassle to try carrying all three. "Come on, Reggie. Looks like this is a special mission just for you."

The cat meowed, and he scooped him up, turning to hurry back to the apartment building. Reggie just curiously looked around at their surroundings, pretty unbothered by it all, and perked up at the sight of Tifa and Marle still sanding the railing of the stairs out front of the apartment, pale green eyes round. It seemed he remembered Tifa from the few times she had come by Wedge's place.

"A cat?" Marle asked, spotting Wedge huffing and puffing as he returned. "How is a cat going to help him, dear?"

"Well... when I... can't sleep... my cats all lay with me, and... it helps! It does!" Wedge said between panting breaths, proudly holding up the cat. "Reginaldo to the rescue!"

"Oh." Marle chuckled, shaking her head and causing her puffy ponytail to sway back and forth. "You do know that calico cats are female, right, boy?"

"Huh? Really?" He blinked, looking down at Reggie, who chirped and swayed his-- er, her tail. "I guess you're Regina, then. Still Reggie."

Tifa laughed softly, tilting her head. "I don't know if Cloud likes cats, but I guess we'll see. He's still up there. We've been keeping watch out here."

"Thanks," Wedge headed up the stairs, and back to Cloud's apartment. He shifted Reggie to one hand so he could use the other to open the door and shut it behind him as he stepped inside. "I'm back!"

"So I see." Cloud was wide awake, laying in a slightly different position than before, but still grumpy as ever. He straightened up a bit when he saw the furry creature Wedge held in the crook of his elbow, confusion and surprise clear on his face. "Is that your cat?"

"Yup! This is Reggie!" He trotted over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress, relieved to be seated after his mad dash back and forth. He gently set Reggie in his lap, petting her soft, patchwork fur as she sniffed the air, getting used to her new surroundings. "She's here to help you sleep."

Cloud paused, then simply said, "Cats don't like me." 

"Aww, of course they do! Cats are just really finicky, but Reggie here is a sweetheart. Right, girl?" He scratched under her chin, and she purred, tilting her head back and closing her eyes in bliss. "They also like laying on warm things, like sunbeams and people. So just get comfy, and she'll come lay with you and help you sleep."

"Whatever..." The blonde snorted doubtfully, laying down again. 

Wedge looked down at Reggie, winking at her as he added softly, "Get him, girl." He loosened his grip on her, letting her wander off of his lap and onto the bed. She meandered about for a second, then hopped onto the floor and sniffed around, checking out the small living space. She inspected the bathroom, under the bed, inside the closet, and the edge of the door, then returned to the bed, hopping back up onto the mattress. She set to sniffing Cloud, then, who had his back to her and Wedge so he wouldn't be on his hurt side. Her white whiskers twitched as she delicately nosed the back of his arm, then moved to his back, where she paused and took an extra minute to sniff. She must have been able to tell he was hurt and sick.

Though Cloud didn't realize it, Wedge knew that cats were loving creatures who would happily comfort someone who was ill of health or stressed. That's why people kept them around. At least, why _he_ kept them around. 

Reggie delicately stepped over Cloud's legs, moving around to his front side. He shifted his head a bit to watch her as she continued her sniffing of him, and after a moment, offered her his hand, which she did indeed sniff, then rubbed her cheek against. Wedge couldn't describe the glee he felt when Cloud petted his cat, rubbing the soft fur on her cheek and neck, or the pure triumph when Reggie moved to curl up by Cloud's chest, purring. 

He kept quiet, though, letting Reggie do her thing. _Nobody_ could stay awake with a cat purring on them. Not even Cloud Strife.

It took a while. Much longer than it ever took him, even on his most sleepless nights. But it worked, in the end, because around the time when he was wondering about lunch, he noticed that Cloud's breathing had slowed and deepened, the tension in his shoulders eased. When he leaned over him to get a look at his face, he saw the blonde's eyes were closed, one of his hands resting on Reggie's side as the cat happily napped with him, still purring softly.

"Yes!" Wedge whispered to himself, grinning. He carefully rose from the bed and tiptoed to the door, eager to tell Tifa about his victory. And maybe check on Jessie with that soup she said she was making... he was hungry. 

The rest of the day passed peacefully, with Cloud finally resting. Biggs returned with the medicine at around dinnertime, and Tifa woke him to make him eat some of the soup Jessie had made, and so she could apply the medicine to his rat bite. He was groggy and still feverish, going through the motions of eating, drinking as much water as they could force into him, and then going back to sleep. Wedge left Reggie there with him overnight, and all the next day, to help him get the rest he needed so he could recover.


	4. Don't Be Scared (Pt. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I play the cliffhanger game and split a chapter into multiple parts, whoops. Things are about to get ugly in the next part. (Once I get around to writing it. X'D)

The alarms ringing through the facility bordered on deafening, red lights flashing from the corner of every hall and every doorway, the onslaught of sound and light making it difficult to even hear himself thinking, nevermind the shouts of his companions as they sprinted through the maze of hallways and catwalks. 

Barret was high above Cloud's head, standing on what piece of a catwalk remained intact after some drones decided to drop explosives on them, his human hand clutching the safety railing as he leaned down over the edge of the mangled walkway, Jessie clinging to his gun arm with her feet dangling over the massive drop to the mako processing machinery below. Cloud himself had fallen, but only because Tifa had -- he had jumped after her when she slipped off the broken catwalk, hooking an arm around her waist and kicking off the falling walkway, then off of a taller machine, before finally tumbling to the floor while hugging her to his chest, taking the brunt of the impact on his back. His shoulders ached something awful, but nothing seemed to be broken, at least, as he let Tifa up and hurriedly rose to his feet.

"You guys okay?" Barret called worriedly, heaving Jessie up onto the catwalk far above their heads, her feet finally on somewhat-solid metal once again. He drew her close to his side as she caught her breath, peering down at the two who had fallen.

Pressing one hand against a burn mark on her arm, Tifa did her best to shout over the screeching sirens, "We're fine!"

"We need to move!" Cloud wasn't used to raising his voice, usually being pretty quiet, but he had no choice at the moment, his words a harsh bark over the noise. "Meet up with Biggs and Wedge like planned! We'll find a way back from down here!" 

"Right!" Barret called back, some of his usual nerve returning. "You take care of Tifa, ya hear?"

Cloud simply raised one hand in response to let him know he heard, already turning to hurriedly weave between the massive machines filling the room. He and Tifa had to step over cables and tubes thicker than their arms, piled all over the floor like a tangle of thread, struggling not to trip over the uneven terrain. At least there were doors down there, to allow maintenance crews to get in and out, so they had somewhere to go. Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to get to where the others would rendezvous.

"This was a mistake," Tifa was fretting as she ran behind him, her voice scarcely audible over the alarms. "We should never have come here."

"Well we're here now, so let's just focus on getting out of here rather than our regrets," Cloud replied, eyes set ahead. Red light bathed the hallway they sprinted through, giving their surroundings an ominous atmosphere when combined with the dark metal paneling on the floor, walls, and ceiling alike. The hall brought them to a decontamination room, perhaps intended for use if the machines in the previous room leaked or had a meltdown; the moment they stepped inside, the doors behind them slid shut and locked. They were locked inside, the sirens abruptly cutting off as the massive doors blocked the sound.

A robotic female voice said over the speakers, _"INITIATING DECONTAMINATION SEQUENCE."_

"We don't have time for this!" Tifa cried, rushing over to the doors that would let them out into the main facility and furiously tapping on the control panel. Error messages popped up on the screen, red lights flashing. It wouldn't let them out until decontamination was complete.

Cloud strode up to his friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Panicking won't help. This whole facility is on emergency protocol, all of the decontamination chambers are likely automated."

Biting her lip, Tifa turned away from the control panel. "Right..." She nervously tugged on her gloves, the orbs of the materia set into them glimmering in the dim light. "I just... we should have never tried to hit a _research facility._ Security is way too high, especially after we bombed that reactor in Sector 1."

"We had a reason to try," Cloud said simply, glancing at the control panel to gauge how much time they had to stand around, and how much that would give them to meet up with the others. It wasn't looking good for them. The team just wanted to hit a research facility they blamed some excess mutant monsters on, thanks to its projects involving infusing common creatures with mako. Whether they unleashed those beasts on the world or just didn't properly dispose of their materials, it was causing swarms of nasty things to terrorize the people of the slums. An entire group of school-age children had been mauled by a swarm of drakes while out playing, and several had come away with grievous injuries, with one even having to have a severely damaged arm amputated. They all would have died if the neighborhood watch hadn't been able to intervene at the last minute. 

"We're just too reckless! We keep getting in too deep!" Tifa argued, shaking her head. "We should have increased the neighborhood watch to handle the monsters rather than coming out here and trying to plant _another_ bomb! Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" She turned away, anxiously pounding one fist against the doors locking them into the chamber. "I'm so sick of this!"

A spark of pain shot through Cloud's skull at those words, causing him to grunt softly under his breath and press a hand against the side of his head. His vision wavered, wisps of greenish light flashing across his eyes, but he didn't lapse into a flashback, at least. He let out a shaky breath, replying more tersely, "Let's just focus on getting out of here, okay?"

She looked back at him, her anger and frustration giving way to a glimmer of concern. She always noticed when his head was bothering him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine..." He stepped closer to her as a soft beep sounded through the chamber, and the seal on the doors was broken with a hiss of air. They slid open a moment later, only to show a small army out there waiting for them, drones hovering over armed guards who all had their weapons raised, the alarms once again assaulting their eardrums. 

"Hands behind your head! On your knees!" The guards shouted, red lights on their helmets glowing like the robotic eyes of the drones.

_Here we go,_ Cloud gritted his teeth and drew the Buster Sword in one fluid motion, having it in front of him in the span of a single heartbeat. They were going to have to fight their way out. 

Naturally, every single gun opened fire, a storm of bullets raining down on the two cornered in the decontamination room. Tifa couldn't get close enough to land a blow, so she resorted to using her materia from the start, communicating with Cloud through just a single glance as the pair ducked behind either side of the doorway for shelter. They both readied their respective magics, then turned to fire at the hallway in unison. 

_"Burn!"_ Cloud snarled, while Tifa made a pun about _chilling out_ as a wave of smoldering flames and blistering cold swept over the crowd in the hall. It was enough of a distraction for them to leap out and go on the offensive, Cloud taking the lead as he swung his sword out to cut through the human guards. Tifa was right behind him, leaping up to punch a drone square in its camera-lens eye, shattering the glass, then grabbing it by one of its spider-like appendages and swinging it into the wall.

Their human opponents were capable of feeling fear, so after a few of their own were brutally cut down by the Buster Sword, those remaining backpedaled hard, trying to get out of range. Still, it was a brutal fight, with a swarm of drones harassing them and a squadron of guards opening fire every chance they got. It was all just a blur to Cloud; the weight of his blade, shrieking alarms, red lights flashing over the dark pools gathering around the guards he had cut down. He was vaguely aware of a bullet grazing his arm, going just deep enough to rip into muscle before passing right through, leaving a bloody tear in his skin. It hurt, of course, but that only served to give him focus, turning his rage on the guards once more as Tifa finished off the last of the drones.

They didn't stand a chance, to put it simply. It was sad, how poorly trained most of them really were.

Knocking the final guard unconscious by striking his helmet with the side of his sword, Cloud took a second to lean against the wall for a moment, panting for breath. He looked back to check on Tifa, his eyebrows furrowing at the queasy look on her face as she clutched at her stomach. "Tifa?"

"I... think one got me," she said slowly, drawing her hands away from her middle. Her palms were slick with blood, more of it pouring from a large wound in her abdomen, running down her legs and pooling around her shoes. She blinked, reddish-brown eyes round with surprise at the sight, then looked up at him with that startled, vulnerable expression. "Cloud...?"

"Shit!" Cloud lunged for her just as she staggered forward a step and her knees buckled, catching her in his arms. He moved to crouch on the floor, shifting her to cradle her against his chest with one arm, the other flipping open the pouch on her utility belt to start taking out what potions they had on them. A glance at Tifa's back as he held her tightly to him showed an exit wound, so it was safe to immediately start on the potions, a tangy herbal scent filling the air as he shattered them in his fist. 

Tifa was clearly in a state of shock, face pale and eyes still blankly fixed on his face as he broke every single potion they had over her wounds. The bleeding stemmed off, then stopped altogether as skin, muscle, and internal organs repaired themselves, leaving behind just a large pink blemish on her stomach, which would fade with time and become nothing but a scar. Still, the damage had been done, and she had lost a lot of blood; her stark complexion and dazed expression let him know she wasn't going to be doing any more fighting. Probably not even any walking, either.

"Hang on, Tifa..." He slung his Buster Sword onto his back, forced to use both hands to carry her, one arm under her knees and another under her back. Rising to his feet, he dodged around the corpses on the floor to hurry down the hallway, praying that once he got onto a higher floor, his comm would start working again; all he got was static as the others tried to speak to him. 

Tifa was a massive liability in that moment, being not only helpless, but also requiring him to be unarmed... but he couldn't, _wouldn't_ leave her. He just had to get somewhere the others could find them. 

The stairs to the next floor were guarded by a few drones, so he was forced to risk a ride in the lift, but at least that meant he could set Tifa down and free up his hands to take hold of the Buster Sword again to handle the guards who met him when the doors slid open. She was unconscious when he turned back to pick her up and carry her over the mangled drones on the floor, emerging into yet another hallway, this one with pristine white walls and a tile flooring. They had successfully escaped the basement level.

_"Tifa!"_ The sound of Biggs' voice in his ear let Cloud know the comms were working again. _"Tifa, Cloud, do you copy? Come on, guys!"_

"Tifa's down. I've got her, but she can't fight," Cloud grunted in response, rushing down the hallway, only to duck into the nearest room when he glimpsed yet more guards up ahead. Just how many were there?! He gritted his teeth, glancing around the room, which seemed to be some kind of private office that had been hastily evacuated when the alarms went off, judging by the papers scattered everywhere, then made for the desk. Crouching down, he carefully tucked Tifa into the space under the desk, leaning against its side with her arms and legs curled close to her. He needed to hide her from view. Keep her safe.

Exhaling a heavy breath, he tuned out the voices of the others as he thought about his options. There really was only one decision to make, and that was to hide Tifa, call he others to her location, and lure the guards away long enough for them to retrieve her and get her out of there. He couldn't carry her and fight at the same time, nor just stand by and hope the others would be able to fight their way through on their own. The best plan of action was to do what he did best, and draw the fire while they got out.

Finally tuning back into the voices demanding a response over the comms, he said sternly, "Listen, we're in the office just outside Elevator E. I can't carry her and fight off the guards at the same time, so you guys need to come to our location for an extraction."

"We're on our way!" Jessie promised, with the others quickly confirming what she said before falling quiet as they regained their focus.

Cloud hesitated a moment, gently resting a hand on Tifa's cheek. He knew that she would want to wring his neck for what he was about to do, but he had no choice. "... I'm sorry. This is the only way I can keep my promise to you." 

He then shuffled back and rose to his feet, steeling himself as he reached back to his sword and made for the hall. He shut the door behind him, leaving Tifa safely closed inside, and strode down the hall to meet up with the guards he had spotted before. Every emotional barrier he had was swiftly put up and locked, blocking out his guilt, his fear, the deep-rooted need to stay with the people he cared about... he focused only on what was in front of him, and kept moving _forward._

Cloud didn't stop at the guards in the hallway, nor the drones at the stairs, the canine unit in the labs, nor the Sweeper they unleashed on him when he staggered into a large room that stored spare parts for the machines in the basement. He was successfully drawing all of the lab's resources to his location as he proved to be the biggest threat in the building, especially since he wasn't trying to hide -- no, he was as loud as he could be, destroying everything in his path to draw every guard, every drone to him, like he was a raging bull in a china shop. 

They came at him in droves, guards shouting over their own communications for backup. _"All units come to my location!"_ They were playing right into his hands, and were in turn cut down one by one. 

The distraction made it easy enough for the others to reach the office, as voices came to him again while he finished off the Sweeper with a round of magic, sparks and fire flying through the air, only for yet another team of guards to come rushing in through the smoke, dogs snarling at their heels. 

_"'Ey! Where are you, SOLDIER boy?"_ Barret was demanding in his loud, booming voice, though there was no missing his worry.

_"We're at the office, Cloud, but where are you? It is the one by Elevator E, right?"_ Biggs sounded like he was about to start ripping his hair out from his anxiety.

Sweat dripping from his brow, Cloud readied himself for the next wave, exhausted and bleeding now from several wounds. "You'll find Tifa under the desk. I hid her there to keep her safe."

_"Wh-?! She's here, Cloud, but where are YOU?!"_ Jessie demanded. 

He tightened his grasp on the Buster Sword, drawing in a deep breath of smoke-tinged air. "I'll cover your escape. I need you to take Tifa and get out of here."

_"What?! We aren't leaving you!"_ Wedge whined, speaking up for the first time.

_"That's right! I don't leave anyone behind, merc! Where the hell are you?!"_

"We don't have time for this," Cloud snarled, sizing up the guards as they circled around him, all of them struggling to shout over the alarms to tell him to drop his weapon. Fat chance. "This isn't goodbye, just a see you later. I _will_ find my back to you, but you need to trust me and focus on yourselves. Take Tifa. Get out of here."

_"Cloud--"_

_"You promise me you won't go dyin' on me, boy!"_

He blinked at that, surprised that Barret of all people would demand a promise from him, then nodded to himself, replying with just a hint of sarcasm, "Swear on my life. Now go, before they remember you guys are out there."

With that, he reached up to grab his comm out of his ear, crush it in his palm, and with that same hand sent a volley of Fire at the guards, flinging the scorched remains at them. In that moment, he could almost picture a face -- the face that had been haunting the edges of his memory for so long. Cobalt blue eyes and a confident smile. Soft, reassuring words, promising that everything would be okay, that he would take care of him. The sight of that person, that... whoever he was to him... walking away, off to face an army on his own for _Cloud's_ sake. 

The name still refused to come, but he had the distinct feeling of walking in that person's shoes as he strode into the fire and lifted his blade, starting his battle anew. 

... [TO BE CONTINUED]


	5. Don't Be Scared (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mini chapter, I'm sorry! >A<" Life has a way of kicking my butt. Anyway, there will be yet another part of this, at least! X'D Here's the snippet I did from Tifa's POV regarding what happens to the AVALANCHE crew after Part 1, but we'll switch back over to Cloud to see how things went on his end in part 3, what happens to him at the hands of the facility, and hopefully get him out of there.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who comments, leaves kudos, and reads this! <3 I'm glad you all enjoy! 
> 
> *cough* Sephiroth might be appearing in the next part. *cough cough cough* Let's see if I can be more timely with it, I may have some free time coming up this weekend.

It was quiet. Dark. The room smelled like leather and old cigars, with a tinge of gunpowder and... bourbon? 

The bar. She was back at the bar.

Opening her eyes, Tifa found herself laying in a large bed, the covers pulled up over her stomach, which was aching as if she had taken a knife to her gut. It was dark, the curtains drawn over all the windows, and she was vaguely aware of the soft sheets brushing against her legs. Someone had undressed her. 

She lifted her head off the pillows and carefully drew the blankets aside to look down at herself, seeing she was wearing nothing but an absolutely giant grey t-shirt, so loose on her that the hem hung down to her knees and the collar slid off one shoulder. When she lifted up the shirt, she saw knotted pink scar tissue dappling her stomach. She was able to distinguish at least two magically-healed bullet holes, a few flecks of dried blood still clinging to the sensitive skin, as if whoever cleaned her up and changed her clothes had been tentative to be rough with the wounds, though they were now closed. The scars would likely fade with time.

Tifa let out a breath, then carefully gathered her hands beneath her and eased herself upright. The last thing she remembered was battling it out with some drones in the basement of the research facility they hit... she must have been shot, and lost consciousness at some point. If she was back at Barret's room in Seventh Heaven, though, that must have meant they got out okay. 

Slowly, she turned to drape her legs over the side of the bed, then stood up, one hand pressing against her abdomen as a pang went through her. She gritted her teeth and drew a breath in through her nose, then let it out slowly, before relaxing as the ache eased and shuffling towards the door, bare feet quiet against the floor. Upon opening the door, she had to blink as light fell across her; the hallway light was on, the bulb flickering once as it complained that it needed changing soon, but then going steady with its dull yellow glow. Down the hallway was another door, this one leading out to the bar itself. She hesitated, considering her current state of dress, but then reasoned that the only people who would be in the bar while she was out of commission would be the crew themselves, and reached out to open the door. 

She was met with the sound of familiar voices and the pattering of fingers dancing across a computer keyboard, which immediately put her at ease even before she saw her friends sitting at two of the tables in the dining area. There was no sign of Marlene; perhaps she had gone out to play with her friends. Cloud also wasn't there, but who knew what job he had decided to take up while waiting on her sorry ass to recover.

Nobody noticed her at first, she was so quiet coming out, so she shut the door behind her and stiffly wandered up to the bar, leaning against it to catch her breath before smiling and calling softly, "Good morning."

The others looked up almost in sync, their faces seeming tired and drawn, but lighting up a bit when they saw her. 

"Tifa, baby!" Barret rose to his feet, striding over to her and gently resting his massive hand on her back. It felt warm and soothing, especially considering how sore she was, and she shifted to lean against him instead of the cold, hard bar counter. "How you feelin'?"

"Okay, considering I must have been out for a while," she replied, asking, "How long has it been?"

"Well, it isn't morning," Biggs replied, glancing at the windows, where sunlight leaked in through the cracks between the closed shutters. "It's the afternoon after our failure of a mission." He frowned, looking down at the computer set in front of him. He and Jessie were both seated with their clunky, armored laptops -- the things could probably survive a bomb going off, even if they were heavy and awkward to carry. Definitely more suited to sitting on a desk than actually being portable. 

Tifa's shoulders drooped at that. "We failed, then...? Is it because of me?"

"No, no, of course not," Barret reassured her. His eyebrows lowered over his big brown eyes as he sighed, "You were right, Tifa, we weren't prepared for that kind of mission... and Cloud had to clean up our mess."

The others hung their heads, gazes fixed on the floor as they went silent.

"That's what our resident SOLDIER boy is here for, right? As much as I hate dragging him into all of this..." Tifa tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke, but everyone just seemed to look even more despaired. None of them were meeting her eyes, not even Barret. Her heart sank. "... Where _is_ Cloud?"

Barret cleared his throat, but faltered, prompting Jessie to speak up, her eyes never leaving her computer screen. "He... didn't come home with us, Tifa."

An icy feeling washed over her, and she would have toppled over had Barret not had his arm around her to steady her. "What?!"

"Cloud stayed behind to keep security busy so we could get out," Biggs clarified, clenching his hands into fists. "He said he'd come find us, but he hasn't come back yet... we're trying to track him down right now. Jessie and I are calling in every favor we have to see if someone can locate him out in any of the neighboring Sectors. It's possible he's laying low somewhere right now."

"I have a friend back at HQ who I have hacking the security feeds to see if he's still at the facility," Jessie added, nervously drumming her fingers against her computer. 

Tifa's mind started racing at the idea of Cloud being injured somewhere, alone, or even worse, still being _at the Shinra research facility._ Who knew what they could be doing to him to get information about Avalanche's plans and whereabouts? It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. It shouldn't have happened. She shouldn't have been hurt, shouldn't have slowed them all down. She knew it was her fault, no matter what the others said... if she hadn't been hurt, maybe they could have gotten out of there together, maybe she could have watched his back... 

"Tifa," Barret interrupted her thoughts, making her jump a little, and she tilted her head back to look up at him as he drew her closer to his chest. "We'll find him. He promised not to go dyin' on us, and I'm holdin' him to it."

"Y-yeah," Wedge added with a not. "Cloud keeps his word."

They were right about that, as painful as it was. Cloud had promised her, a long time ago, to be there for her if she ever needed a hero, and he had kept his word... hopefully he would also keep his second promise, and stay alive long enough for them to find him. 

"Right..." Tifa nodded slowly, clutching at her oversized shirt with both hands. 

A soft _ping_ noise suddenly came from Jessie's computer, and she straightened up, tapping on a few of the keys on her keyboard. Her eyes suddenly went wide, shoulders stiffening. "I found him!"

"What?!" Biggs shot to his feet, knocking his chair back onto the floor. "Where?! How?!"

"Is he okay?!" Wedge added, hurrying to peer over Jessie's shoulder while Barret walked Tifa across the room to make her sit at the table before her legs gave out. They all leaned in to get a glimpse of Jessie's computer screen. 

"My friend back at HQ managed to get some pieces of the security feed," Jessie replied, pulling up a video. "He says he saw a blonde guy with a big sword, which sounds like our Cloud..." She clicked on the play button, and the still frame began to move, showing snippets of hallways and storage rooms wrought with destruction, broken drones laying about the floor, human bodies covered with black sheets, and scorch marks on the walls. Then it flickered over to show a few living soldiers escorting a hunched figure down a hallway, holding onto the man's arms and pressing a gun to his back despite him having his hands bound. 

_"Cloud...!"_ Tifa gasped, pressing against Jessie's side as she tried to get a better look at the screen. "So... he didn't get out..."

The timestamp was from very early that morning, well before dawn; likely not long after everyone else escaped. The video continued on to show Cloud being brought to a room she didn't recognize in the facility, full of all sorts of equipment and test tubes, with people in white lab coats... scientists? One of them, a woman with thin brown hair and a face twisted in an expression somewhere between a smile and a grimace, approached the guards and reached out to grab Cloud's hair, yanking his head back to get a good look at his face. She peered into his eyes, then straightened up and laughed before and saying something the feed didn't pick up; the audio was poor quality, only picking up her laughter and then a faint, garbled sound of her speaking. Perhaps the security system had been damaged during the attack.

"H-he, uh... doesn't look so good..." Wedge murmured anxiously, and Tifa couldn't help but nod mutely in agreement. Cloud had clearly been put through the wringer, his clothes tattered and singed, smeared with blood, some of which was _surely_ his own, judging by what wounds they could make out on the damaged video. The most obvious of which was a long gash down the right side of his face, from the edge of his eyebrow, nearly down to his chin. 

The scientist said something else to the guards, and they then dragged Cloud towards a cell door off to one side of the room, made completely out of metal with a small, barred window. It was unlocked, opened, and Cloud thrown in, hands still bound, resulting in him sprawling onto the floor, before the door was then shut and locked once more, leaving him in the dark. 

Jessie tapped on the keyboard, fast-forwarding the recording, but it seemed Cloud remained in that room for hours, throughout the entire piece of footage that she had been sent. "I guess he's still there..."

"So... we have to go back there, except this time, they know we're coming, and we don't have Cloud," Biggs sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. Stress practically radiated off of him, and it was reflected on the faces of all the others. "The hell are we supposed to do?"

Barret clenched his jaw, then straightened up, barking in his usual energetic, no-nonsense tone, "We get him back, that's what! I don't leave anyone behind, even if they're a stuck-up, stubborn merc who doesn't know how to listen. If we got any favors left, it's time to call 'em in, and make a damn good plan to bust him out of there."

"Right!" Wedge agreed, quick to perk up, clenching his fists in determination.

Tifa internally warred with herself, guilt and dread weighing her down, but she shared a glance with Jessie and saw something akin to hope in the other girl's eyes. They nodded to each other, and Tifa found the strength to agree, "Right. We'll get him back... he has promises to keep, after all." 

_We're coming for you, Cloud._


End file.
